In May 2011, the Wasp placed 99th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time,[1] and 26th in their list of "The Top 50 Avengers" in 2012.[2] The character was also ranked 94th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[3] In 2013, she was ranked the fifth greatest Avenger of all time by Marvel.com.[4]

Janet van Dyne debuted in Tales to Astonish #44 (plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by H.E. Huntley, and drawn by Jack Kirby) as Henry "Hank" Pym's partner, becoming the Wasp to avenge the death of her father, scientist Vernon van Dyne. She co-starred in Tales to Astonish from issue #44 to issue #69.

She was a founding member of the Avengers, appearing in the first issue and giving the team its name. It is with the Avengers that Janet became most well-known. At first she was the weak link of the team, but later on became one of the smartest and craftiest of its members. Though she takes leaves of absence throughout the series, she is one of the longest active members and has acted as leader of the team for longer than any other member save for Captain America.

Janet became the leader of the Avengers in Avengers vol. 1 #217, a position she held until Avengers vol. 1 #278 save for a brief period where she handed leadership off to the Vision. She then appeared in issue #32 of West Coast Avengers, becoming a full-time member in issue #42.

She made occasional appearances in Avengers vol. 3, returning as an active member of the team in issue #27 before resuming leadership duties. She and Captain America became co-leaders of the team starting in issue #38.

After the events of "Avengers Disassembled", Janet appeared in the limited series Beyond! before rejoining the Avengers in Mighty Avengers vol. 1 #1-11. She was presumed dead during the events of Secret Invasion in 2008. Wasp returned in the Avengers "End Times" storyline that ran from issue #31 (December 2012) to issue #34 (January 2013). She currently appears as a member of the Avengers Unity Squad in Uncanny Avengers.

In his 1970s run on The Avengers, artist George Pérez revamped the character's costume a number of times, having a significant impact on the character's development:

It became a joke. In the case of the Wasp, I noticed that she has so many costumes that eventually I said "Why not?" I think I was on the book long enough what was once just a little bit of idiosyncrasy about the character became fully part of the character's persona.[5]

Janet van Dyne was born in Cresskill, New Jersey, the socialite daughter of wealthy scientist Vernon van Dyne. When her father is killed by an alien entity unleashed during one of his experiments, Janet turns to his associate Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym for aid and convinces him to help her. In order to avenge her father’s death, she undergoes a biochemical procedure that grants her the ability to grow wings upon shrinking under four feet tall and uses a supply of "Pym particles" by which to change her size. Together, she and Ant-Man defeat the alien and avenge her father. Janet decides to remain as Wasp and be Hank’s partner as she has fallen in love with him, though Hank initially rejects her feelings due to the similarities between her and his first wife that had been murdered.[6]

During her time as Hank’s partner, she took part in numerous conflicts with villains who included the Porcupine, Egghead and Whirlwind (then known as the Human Top). Though initially without any offensive powers, Janet proves to be resourceful, using her ability to communicate with insects to fight, as well as using a pin to poke people as means of a weapon. Later, she uses a miniature air gun, the original wasp’s sting.[7]

After the initial confrontation with Loki that brought together the founding Avengers, it is Janet and Hank who propose forming a team of superheroes. Janet suggests the name for the team and becomes a founding member.[8] Never lacking confidence or bravery and by nature an outgoing personality, Janet is always in the thick of battles with villains, who include Norse gods and aliens, despite being the most underpowered member of the team. Janet frequently comments on the attractiveness of her male colleagues, especially Thor, in order to provoke jealousy from Hank and get him to commit to a relationship. Early on in her Avengers career, she is seriously wounded by a stray bullet in battle against Count Nefaria, and nearly dies from a collapsed lung.[9] She leaves the team several issues later.[10] When she returns in Avengers vol. 1 #26, her shrinking powers have progressed to the point where she no longer needs Pym particle capsules to change her size.

Though Janet hopes on several occasions that her long-term boyfriend Hank will propose,[11] their relationship does not move forward to that point until something more dramatic happens. The new vigilante Yellowjacket breaks into the Avengers mansion, demands to be admitted as a member of the team, claims to have killed Hank Pym, and then kidnaps Janet. Not believing that Yellowjacket was Hank's killer, she attempts to find where Yellowjacket is holding Hank,[12] but instead determines that Yellowjacket is her boyfriend. Before revealing this, and during the period in which Yellowjacket still believes himself to have killed Hank, Janet marries Hank, though the wedding is disrupted by an attack from the Circus of Crime. During the fight, it is revealed that Yellowjacket is Pym.[13]

After another departure from the team, Janet van Dyne returns briefly and becomes a member of the original Lady Liberators,[14] before once more leaving the team. She becomes temporarily trapped at insect size, and battles Whirlwind, Para-Man and Dr. Nemesis.[15] She also battles Equinox alongside Spider-Man and Yellowjacket; during this time her powers are augmented to allow her to harness her body's bio-electrical current and fire blasts of energy which she calls her "wasp's stings".[16]

During one of her breaks from active Avengers duty, Janet approaches the team with concerns about her husband having suffered a breakdown and attacked former teammates. In attempting to find a way to help Hank, she is captured by a brainwashed Hank,[17] and used by Ultron as a template to create Jocasta. She is rescued when Jocasta alerts the Avengers to her location, and Black Panther suggests that the A.I.'s ability to reach out to them was brought about because of Janet's personality breaking through.[18]

Janet van Dyne discovers that her husband, now paranoid, overbearing and verbally abusive, has concocted a plan to make himself look good in front of the Avengers by staging an attack that can only be stopped by the instigator. When she attempts to dissuade him, Hank strikes her; she divorces him soon after and takes a very brief break from the team.[19]

When Janet returns to the Avengers, she proposes that the team is in need of new leadership and nominates herself for the role of Chairperson. She is elected to the position by Thor, Iron Man and Captain America.[20] Janet takes to the role naturally, proving to be an efficient and smart leader who is praised by Captain America for her leadership skills. She makes it a point to increase the number of women on the team and recruits She-Hulk and Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) to the team.

At the same time as taking on leadership of the team, Janet begins to work in earnest at being a professional fashion designer. Part of her friendship with She-Hulk includes designing new clothing for her. She also renews her social life, engaging in a whirlwind romance with Tony Stark before learning that the billionaire is Iron Man. She breaks off the relationship, saying that she cannot date a colleague who is also a friend of her ex-husband.[21] Later, she has a relationship with Paladin, though they are often apart due to both of their jobs.

Janet briefly hands leadership of the team off to the Vision,[22] though she quickly resumes the role.[volume & issue needed] The new team line-up proves difficult, and Janet clashes with Hercules taking issue with a woman leading.[volume & issue needed] It is during this time that she meets the Space Phantom for the second time and defeats the villain.[volume & issue needed] During the Secret War, despite being the official leader of the Avengers gathered by the Beyonder, Janet nominates Captain America for leadership of the assembled heroes as the non-Avengers present know him better.[volume & issue needed] As the conflict unfolds, Janet is briefly captured by Magneto, but she turns the situation to her advantage by pretending to be seduced; she learns Magneto's plans and then defeats him before leaving to alert the Avengers.[volume & issue needed]

During the Under Siege storyline, Janet leads the team during a time where they are attacked from all sides. She defeats Titania and the Absorbing Man, then leads a team against Baron Zemo’s forces to rescue Captain America, the Black Knight, and other team members who have been captured. Shortly after the resolution of this story, she steps down from leadership once more, nominating Monica Rambeau for the position. After leaving the team, she battles the threat of Red Ronin by herself.[23] She later joins the West Coast Avengers.[24] Initially, she still acts as though the team leader, to the chagrin of other West Coast Avengers who desire that role. During this time, she resumes a romantic relationship with Hank.[25] Although she is elected as a regular member of the Avengers West, Janet chooses to become a reserve member.[26]

Several years later, Janet van Dyne returns to the Avengers, first at reserve status, and later as a full member of the team. During the Destiny War, the Janet of the present becomes the leader of a team of Avengers assembled from different time periods, cited as being chosen due to her "inner strength and flexibility to give the team direction without exerting too much control".[27] After the Destiny War, Janet returns to work with the Avengers once more, taking up leadership of the team and commanding the team through a number of conflicts, including Kang the Conqueror's invasion of Earth.[28]

Janet van Dyne once more takes up leadership of the Avengers and continues to make sure there is a strong female presence on the team. Under her leadership, the number of women on the team outnumbers the number of men for the first time in Avengers history. Though her relationship with Hank Pym remains strong for some time, she turns down his proposal of remarrying, saying she wouldn't marry him again.[29] During the Lionheart of Avalon storyline, Janet is shown fighting the Wrecking Crew while at giant size, a power she had rarely, if ever, used prior. She is shown to be powerful enough at this size to take down a jet.[30] She has a brief fling with fellow team member Hawkeye.[31]

Janet van Dyne is shown as a member of the Avengers and aids them during the battle with Starro. She also gives Iron Man the idea to create a dimensional alarm and rallies other Avengers to defend the artifacts. After the final battle in the Savage Land against the Justice League, Janet ends up as an Avenger in the new merged world that the villain Krona created and is unaware of the changes. In this world she and Hank are good friends with Elongated Man and his wife Sue Dibny. When the two teams decide to team up against Krona, the Wasp fights alongside the Avengers until the battle is over.[32]

While discussing her fling with Hawkeye, with the Scarlet Witch, a slightly tipsy Wasp confesses to a pregnancy scare and inadvertently mentions Wanda Maximoff's own children,[33] whose unnatural existence Agatha Harkness has erased from the Witch's memory. Wasp's slip of the tongue, combined with Scarlet Witch's increasingly unstable and growing powers, cause Wanda to suffer a mental breakdown which leads to the events of Avengers Disassembled. Janet is knocked into a coma by a rampaging She-Hulk during an attack on Avengers Mansion by the Scarlet Witch. Hank Pym watches over her in the hospital, and when she recovers, they reconcile. The two retire from the Avengers in order to pursue a new life together in Oxford.[34]

Janet van Dyne is pulled into space and placed in a situation where she is expected to fight to the death with other heroes and villains. Instead of following the wishes of the Stranger—who they thought to be the Beyonder—Janet falls into the leadership position for the group, giving tactical orders in battle and calling upon her years of experience with the Avengers to handle the threats thrown at them. After tension between her and her ex-husband, Janet explains to Medusa why she can't reconcile with Hank Pym, despite an attempt to do so while in London. Upon learning that the Space Phantom has taken on the form of Spider-Man, Janet leads the group and keeps one of the team from being trapped in limbo when the Space Phantom attempts to take the person's form.[35]

During the superhuman Civil War, Janet van Dyne is pro-registration and suggests that they push forward the fifty-state initiative to get things under control after the Thor-Clone kills Bill Foster, an event which upsets her greatly.[volume & issue needed] She also becomes the host of a pro-registration reality TV show called America's Newest Superhero.[36]

Janet van Dyne is selected as a member of the Mighty Avengers by Carol Danvers and Tony Stark as part of the Fifty State Initiative.[37] During its attempt to destroy humanity, she correctly determines that Ultron has taken over Iron Man's body.[38] When alien symbiotes attack New York, Janet uses a refined growth formula given to her by Hank Pym—who is actually a Skrull impostor—which allows her to shift to giant-size without side effects. During the beginning of the fight, she is briefly turned into a symbiote monster before a cure is created by Stark.[39]

Janet van Dyne is among the Mighty Avengers who are fighting heroes from the Skrull ship. She is later seen with the rest of the Avengers heading to New York to confront the Skrulls. While fighting the Skrulls, the true purpose of the serum that the Skrull Hank Pym has given her is revealed. After Queen Veranke is thought to be dead, the Skrull imposter presses a button that makes Janet increase in size rapidly, as well as cause her to emitting lethal amounts of black-purple energy. Janet realizes that the "new" particles Pym has given her are turning her into a bio-bomb, and she tries to flee the battlefield and take as many Skrulls with her as possible when she explodes. To save both the city and heroes, Thor uses the enchanted hammer Mjolnir to create a spatial warp to seemingly disperses Janet into nothingness. Thor is devastated by the act and vows to avenge her.[40]

Upon accepting Janet's death, Hank Pym takes up his ex-wife's role as the Wasp.[41]

Following the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, it is revealed that Janet van Dyne has not died after all, but has been shunted into a Microverse by Thor's spatial warp in the same spot that she appears to have died in Secret Invasion. Using her Avengers communication card she is able to send a signal with help from a local being called Cru-Sani. Giant-Man, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man go into the Microverse to rescue her and find her alive and fighting against an evil despot, Lord Gouzar, who has conquered the Microverse. After defeating Lord Gouzar and liberating the Microverse from his tyranny, Janet and her fellow Avengers return to their normal universe.[42]

Following a brief hiatus, Janet returns to the team as a member of the Avengers Unity Squad. In addition to serving on the roster, she privately funds the team in order to avoid the problems that would come with government sponsorship.[43] During the events of Inhumanity, Janet returns to the Microverse to rescue a family who has been pulled there through a newly awakened Inhuman's powers. There she confronts Gouzar once more, before returning to normal space.[44] In the Avengers Unity Squad's fight with the Horsemen of Death, the Wasp defeats both the resurrected Banshee and Sentry, utilizing both her ability to grow to giant size as well as her ability to control insect life.[45] After the team is defeated and the Earth destroyed, Wasp is the last surviving human and begins a romance with Havok (Alex Summers) with whom she has a daughter named Katie. Years later on Planet X, she is captured when she and Havok destroy a tachyon dam preventing time travel to their era.[volume & issue needed] They are able to undo the destruction of Earth by forming an alliance with Kang and projecting their minds back into their past selves (physical time-travel still being impossible) but Kang takes their daughter to a place outside of time to 'protect' her from the changes in history,[46] Kang subsequently attempts to use Katie as a hostage to force Havok to stop attacking him when he tries to take the Celestial power for himself, departing with Katie as his prisoner.[47] Although Alex is left disfigured after the battle, he and Janet remain together. They are contacted by Immortus informing them that Immortus can return their daughter to them if they take action at the right time and place to conceive her, but he also warns them about the imminent threat posed by the Red Skull.[48]

After the Red Skull's actions cause all heroes and villains present at his defeat to undergo a 'moral inversion',[49] Alex attempts to argue for Janet's life as the X-Men prepare to detonate a gene bomb that will destroy all non-mutants in the blast radius, but accepts the decision nevertheless.[50] After Carnage sacrifices himself to contain the blast,[51] Alex attempts to take credit for it, but Janet sees through the deception. Although the inversion is undone, the two separate for good when Alex is one of three characters (the other two being Iron Man and Sabretooth) to remain in their new state.[52]

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Wasp confronts Wolverine (X-23) and her clones called The Sisters when they try to steal an Ant-Man suit. Upon Wolverine clearing things up, Wasp agrees to shrink down and destroys the nanites in Zelda's body. While Wasp and Wolverine made their way through Zelda's body, Captain Mooney of Alchemax Genetics shows up and shoots Zelda causing Wasp and Wolverine to exit the body. The two of them knock out Captain Mooney.[53]

Wasp later caught up with the Uncanny Avengers and confronted the Hank Pym/Ultron after helping to fend off the monsters in the subway. When Wasp asked the Hank Pym/Ultron about the recent events, she figured out that Ultron is in control of Hank Pym when Ultron guessed wrong. The rest of the Uncanny Avengers were informed of this causing Cable to pressure Hank Pym enough for Ultron to go on the attack and reveal his true self.[54]

Making use of the cellular implantation of sub-atomic Pym particles, the Wasp possesses the power to alter her physical size, causing her body's mass to be shunted to or gained from an alternate dimension known as Kosmos. She is able to shrink to a minimum of several centimeters or grow to a maximum of several hundred feet. Smaller or larger sizes are possible but the exertion puts a strain on her body. Initially, these abilities stem from use of a Pym particle gas released from special capsules, and later biochemical augmentation by Henry Pym. Over time, however, her body absorbs enough particles to cause cellular mutation due to repeated exposure to Pym particles, allowing her to alter her size at will.

At miniature size, her strength level increases as her body's mass is compacted. At giant size, her strength and endurance increase geometrically with her height, reaching superhuman levels. Despite the advantages of giant size, Janet usually prefers to remain the diminutive Wasp, calling on her growth power only in times of extreme emergency.

At miniature size, the Wasp grows a pair of translucent insect wings from her back, a result of genetic modifications provided by Hank Pym. These grant her the power of flight, at speeds up to 40 mph (64 km/h).

The Wasp is able to harness and augment her body's natural bio-electric energy, releasing it from her hands in powerful electrical force bursts, which she calls her "stinger blasts", "stingers", or "wasp's stings". Originally, she requires special wrist devices to produce these, but again, Pym particle absorption allows her to create the ability unaided.

The Wasp's genetic modifications also grant her the ability to sprout small prehensile antennae from her temples which allowed her to telepathically communicate with and control insects. However, this is an ability she rarely uses.

Van Dyne displays several non-superhuman abilities that garner her special fame and attention, foremost of which is her fashion sense; in nearly all of her early appearances, she sports a new costume, presumably designed and manufactured on her own as she is a gifted fashion designer. She is also a skilled amateur screenwriter. The Wasp is trained in unarmed combat by Captain America and in combat utilizing her special powers by Henry Pym. In addition, the Wasp is one of the most intuitive, if not deductive, members of the Avengers, and is an experienced leader and strategist. She effectively determines that a chemical accident has created a schizophrenic break in Henry[55] and that the relationship between the Scarlet Witch and the Vision is the result of the infused personality of Wonder Man,[volume & issue needed] and guesses Iron Man's identity of Tony Stark.[volume & issue needed]

It was revealed that Hank Pym had a daughter named Nadia through Maria Trovaya who was abducted and supposedly killed by foreign agents. This caused Nadia to be raised in the Red Room until the day she obtained a Pym Particle sample that enabled her to escape.[56] Upon heading to where her father lived, Nadia learned about what happened to Hank and used some parts of her father's costume and some materials laying around where she created a new version of the Wasp suit.[57] Upon becoming the third Wasp, Nadia plans to obtain the admiration of her father's allies. After earning the trusts of the Avengers after stabilizing Vision, Edwin Jarvis took Nadia on a road trip to meet her extended family.[56] Nadia meets Janet and spends the day with her. They save the president and then have a moment together.[58] It soon becomes apparent that Nadia was out of touch with reality, believing that everything could be fixed by her science skills because "she was good". However, despite learning the harsh truth of reality, Janet comforted her and felt she had the potential to become a true hero.[59]

Nadia soon joins the Avengers and gains U.S. citizenship. Upon realizing that the most intelligent women on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s index don't list any women above the 27th place, she jump starts the program G.I.R.L. (Genius In action Research Labs) to look for women with genius intellects.[60] When deciding her legal name, Nadia realizes that she can't take the name 'Pym' as she never knew much about her biological mother and father. She decides to take the surname 'van Dyne' as Janet was the only person there for her and believed in her success.[61]

In the alternate future of the "MC2" universe, Henry Pym and Janet Pym are parents of two children (Hope Pym and Henry Pym, Jr.). Giant-Man later perishes on the last mission of the original Avengers, and the Wasp dies of a broken heart. Their parents' deaths motivate Hope to be the Red Queen to form the Revengers while Henry Jr. turns into the Big Man and joins a government reform team.[volume & issue needed]

The Marvel Adventures: The Avengers series (set in its own continuity) features Janet van Dyne as Giant-Girl, showcasing her ability to grow rather than shrink, which she uses in combat. She is younger than her main universe counterpart and she cracks jokes along with her teammate Spider-Man. Issue 13 of the series reveals her origin as a wealthy socialite given access to size-changing Pym particles by scientist Henry Pym (here an employee of Janet's father rather than a superhero). Her maximum size is unknown, but she grows tall enough to catch a school. Instead of having her powers naturally, Janet requires a suit powered by Pym particles to change her size. Like her Earth-616 counterpart, Janet seems to change her costume regularly. The first costume is purple and black with a mask adorned with antennae that looks remarkably similar to the Giant-Man costume worn by Hank Pym in the mainstream universe. This costume allows her to grow while having the added effect of letting her control insects (though she never uses this power). This costume is later destroyed, and Janet wears a second costume that does not include a mask, as her secret identity had been revealed. Finally, Janet gains a third suit that allows her to both grow and shrink, with the suit changing in appearance depending on her size. While using this suit to shrink, she calls herself Wasp and has powers similar to her mainstream counterpart, such as flight, proportionally superhuman strength, and the ability to project bio-electrical stings. A recent preview of Marvel Adventures: the Avengers #19 has shown her wearing a costume which is primarily blue but has gold-yellow accents. Whether this costume increases her maximum size is yet to be seen. She also mentions that she has at least two brothers, although they have never been seen or given any names (see Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #3).

The Marvel Zombies series features an alternate Wasp as one of the main characters. She is now a zombie, another victim of the virus that has infected nearly all her world's superhumans. After Earth's human population is almost entirely devoured, Wasp is one of the zombies who finally kills (and consumes) Magneto.[volume & issue needed]

Around this time, Wasp is part of a sub-team that makes its way to the Marvel Apes universe. A collection of heroes manages to reverse the dimensional tear and send them back, but not before Wasp secretly infects the local version of Iron Man, Iron Mandrill.[62]

The Wasp then discovers that Hank Pym has kept a secret food supply—a sedated and maimed Black Panther, held prisoner in Hank's lab. She confronts Hank, but he decapitates her by increasing in size and biting her head off in the struggle that follows. When the Black Panther later escapes the lab, he also takes the Wasp's head—still alive, but helpless. He eventually reaches safety, encountering Magneto's surviving Acolytes. The Acolytes announce that they will study the Wasp, seeking a cure for the virus.[63]

An epilogue, five years later, shows the Wasp exploring the deserted Earth alongside the Acolytes. Her severed head is now sealed within a liquid-filled helmet, controlling a robotic body.[volume & issue needed]

Forty years later in "Marvel Zombies 2", her head is fixed on a more advanced machine with her head exposed to the air. She also develops romantic feelings toward one of the Acolyte survivors, a scientist named Reynolds. As she indicates, forty years with the Acolytes is far longer than the time she has spent with Hank. At one point, the two share a kiss.[63]

A long period without feeding seems to have cured her completely of the hunger. Now Black Panther's adviser and friend, she is forced to infect him when an Acolyte assassin attempts to kill him. This incident is orchestrated by Malcolm Cortez, the son of Fabian Cortez, wanting to take leadership from Black Panther. When the hunger resurfaces, she nearly eats Panther's wife before being stopped by him. Instead, they eat the assassin and they state they will go into isolation in order to control their hunger. This is a success. Multiple powered zombies soon threaten the colony. Wasp fights alongside Panther, Hawkeye (who had also been decapitated and inhabits Janet's own former cybernetic body), Forge, and a reformed Luke Cage and Spider-Man to save the people of New Wakanda from Firelord, Giant-Man, Wolverine, Gladiator, Hulk, Jean Grey and Iron Man seeking to finish off humanity and retain the inter-dimensional portal so they can enter a new universe. Eventually the zombies discover, as Janet has, that the hunger fades with time, and they stop their rampage only to have their numbers halved by the Hulk. Janet, along with the other remaining zombies (the new Colonel America, Spider-Man, Cage, Giant-Man, Wolverine and Black Panther), end up teleported to another universe by Malcolm Cortez.[64]

The Wasp ends in the dimension of 'Earth Z'. She leads an alien invasion of the zombie-infected Earth in an effort to quash the flesh-eating threat. She fails at this and is destroyed.[65]

During the period when she is presumed dead, a cyborg version of the Wasp appears in the Core, an underground city populated by robots.[66] During a battle between the Descendants (the residents of the Core) and the Secret Avengers, Hawkeye encounters the cyborg Wasp. He muses that the cyborg must have been the reanimated corpse of Janet, and finds himself unable to harm her.[67] This Wasp is later revealed to be from an alternate future where most of Earth's superheroes had been killed and rebuilt using Deathlok technology. After the death of her timeline's version of Hank Pym, the Deathlok Wasp attempts to kidnap and assimilate his Earth-616 counterpart.[68]

Janet Van Dyne is a Stark International employee who wears a suit which grants her plasma wings. Janet has a rivalry with Iron Girl. Wasp helps defend the energy well from Hydra and Namor.[volume & issue needed] During Rings of Fate she is presumably killed by the Hand.[volume & issue needed]

Her mutant status remains hidden from the public but is known by Henry "Hank" Pym and S.H.I.E.L.D.. She can generate a glittering wasp-like sting which she discharges through her hands.[70][74][75] Her bio-electric blast, when applied from within the ear to the brain, reverts the Hulk to Bruce Banner during the New York massacre.[74] Side-effects of her insectoid genetics include the occasional consumption of bugs, forming her own larval nests, and laying egg-like constructs.[70] During her college years, she shares a room with Betty Ross and starts seeing Henry. Henry is abusive to her early in their relationship and during college is known to have hit her at least twice, putting her head through a door on one occasion and splitting the roof of her mouth on another. Betty can also recall instances where Janet is missing chunks of hair. Janet also suffers from severe bulimia prior to joining the Ultimates.[76]

Hank's attempts at change through medication and enlistment in the Ultimates does not improve his behavior. As a result of Hank's humiliating loss against Hulk and simmering jealousy of Janet's friendship with Captain America (Steve Rogers), Hank and Janet fight viciously until Janet resorts to stinging and Hank commands an army of ants against her. Janet is found in a state of anaphylactic shock, caused by receiving multiple ant stings she has received while at wasp-size. Captain America, upon learning of Hank's violence, tracks down and beats Hank unconscious for Janet. Captain America's visits Janet after the fight left her exasperated and angry, stemming from embarrassment of her personal life now being public.[77] After stopping the Chitauri invasion, Captain America and Wasp reconcile as friends and slowly start dating, despite Hank's attempts at making amends. On one of their secret meetings, Janet later confesses to Hank, now classified as a security risk by S.H.I.E.L.D., that the generation gap between Captain America and herself, along with the elderly status of Steve's friends, put a large strain on their relationship. She walks out on Rogers and meets up with Hank in a bar.[78]

During their invasion of America, the Liberators fail to take Wasp into account, discounting her as being no threat due to her abilities being those to make herself "smaller and weaker". Janet is able to make her way to the cells in the Triskelion where Captain America is being held under suspicion of the murder of Hawkeye's entire family. Though she is discovered and apparently subdued, she has already liberated her boyfriend. Though Captain America easily beats the Schizoid Man, he stops fighting when several super soldiers threaten to tear Wasp apart; she then surprises them all by using her stinging powers at her normal size for the first time, killing or incapacitating all the super soldiers at once.[79] At some point, Hank gives Janet a dose of the Giant-Man serum, which allows her to grow to gigantic proportions. At a larger size, Janet helps turn the tide in favor of American forces and crushes the Insect Queen with one stomp of her foot. It is unknown whether she can grow at will or whether this is a one-off experience.[80]

During The Ultimates 3 miniseries, Janet becomes co-leader of the team, along with Captain America, and now sports a crimson-and-gold outfit and a mask. She begins to reconcile with her estranged husband, and later works with the Ultimates and Wolverine to stop the plans of Ultron.[81] She and Hawkeye frequently clash thanks to her teammate's almost suicidal nature.[82] Having gone missing during the flood in Ultimatum Wave, Hank Pym and Hawkeye search for her, only for Hawkeye to discover her body being eaten by the Blob.[83] Hank tells Hawkeye and Iron Man (Tony Stark) to take Wasp's body to activate "the Jocasta project".[84]

There are several references to Wasp following her death. She is seen dining in Valhalla with other deceased superheroes when Thor gives a eulogy for Spider-Man (Peter Parker).[85] A series of "WASPS" robots, designed by her late husband, also appear, and are eventually acquired by Mr. Morez (Modi).[86] She is succeeded by the Red Wasp, who has powers which are similar too, yet more aggressive than those of the original Wasp.[87]

Wasp was later revived alongside her fellow Ultimates when the Superflow that separated the different universes was destroyed by Maker and High Evolutionary.[88]

Hayley Lovitt makes a cameo appearance as Janet van Dyne in a flashback sequence in the 2015 film Ant-Man.[94][95][96][97] In an attempt to stop a missile Van Dyne shrinks down to a sub-atomic size. In a mid-credits scene, Hope van Dyne is given a prototype of her mother's upgraded Wasp costume.[98]

IGN ranked the Wasp as the 99th greatest comic book hero of all time, stating that she remained one of the core Avengers members for much of the franchise's history.[1]

In 2013, Marvel.com ranked Wasp as the fifth greatest Avenger of all time, saying that "she not only became chairperson of the Avengers, but perhaps the most potent and resourceful leader Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had ever seen." [4]

1.
Hope Pym
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Hope Pym, also known as the Red Queen, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne in the MC2 universe, created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, she first appeared in A-Next #7. After the deaths of their parents, Hope Pym and her twin brother Big Man became outraged when people began referring to A-Next as the generation of Avengers. Using their parents fortune, the put together the supervillain Revengers team. When they ambushed A-Next, Hope set about to torture Cassandra Lang, feeling that shes the Avengers rightful heir, Hope was finally stopped by Henry, who prevented her from initiating the mansions self-destruct sequence, which would have killed both A-Next and the Revengers. As Red Queen, she uses implanted bio-wings to fly, also, she has bio-electric blasters installed on the gloves on the back of her hands, and extendable claws built into her gloves. However, she apparently does not have the ability to alter her size, the Hope Pym version of Wasp will appear in Avengers, Secret Wars. Hope is a partner of Darren Cross and a reluctant acquaintance of Scott Lang. A mid-credits scene shows Hope being given a version of the Wasp costume. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated that there are plans for Wasp to appear in Ant-Man sequels, christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed that this version of Wasp was going to appear in the 2016 film Captain America, Civil War, but was cut from the film. Evangeline Lilly will reprise her role in the 2018 sequel Ant-Man, Hope Pym appears as a DLC playable character in Lego Marvels Avengers. She appears as both Hope van Dyne and the MCU version of Wasp

2.
J. G. Jones
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J. G. Jones is an American comic book artist, known for his work on titles such as Wanted and Final Crisis. Jones hails from Walker, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University, in 1999, Jones and writer Devin K. Grayson introduced the Yelena Belova character in the Black Widow limited series. The following year, Jones collaborated with writer Grant Morrison on the Marvel Boy limited series, Jones interior art credits include Wonder Woman, The Hiketeia written by Greg Rucka and Mark Millars Wanted published by Top Cow Productions. Jones was intended to be the sole artist on the Grant Morrison DC limited series Final Crisis, due to delays, Jones was assisted by artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy, and Doug Mahnke for issues #4–6, and replaced for issue #7 by Mahnke. Jones noted that Any problems completing the series are my own, I love Doug Mahnke’s art, and he would have probably been a better choice to draw this series in the first place. Since then, Jones has been mostly providing covers for DC Comics, on such as Batman and Robin, Doc Savage, Frankenstein, Agent of S. H. A. D. E. Before Watchmen, Comedian, written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Jones was published in 2012-2013, Jones and writer Mark Waid produced Strange Fruit for Boom. Dark Dominion #7-9, Once a Hero, #2 The Avengers #65-71 Wonder Woman #200-203, 205-210, 212-213, 215-226 Red Sonja #2,14 Serenity #1 Villains United #1-6 Army of Darkness vs. H. A. D. E

3.
Marvel Comics
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Marvel Comics is the common name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc. formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwides parent company, Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvels modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. Most of Marvels fictional characters operate in a reality known as the Marvel Universe. Martin Goodman founded the later known as Marvel Comics under the name Timely Publications in 1939. Martin Goodman, a magazine publisher who had started with a Western pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. The issue was a success, with it and a second printing the following month selling, combined. While its contents came from an outside packager, Funnies, Inc, Timely had its own staff in place by the following year. It, too, proved a hit, with sales of one million. Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc. beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941, Goodman hired his wifes cousin, Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939. Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to a number of different titles, Goodmans business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff. One of these companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at least Marvel Mystery Comics #55. As well, some covers, such as All Surprise Comics #12, were labeled A Marvel Magazine many years before Goodman would formally adopt the name in 1961. The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion and this globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications. Atlas also published a plethora of childrens and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlos Homer the Happy Ghost, Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. Atlas did not achieve any hits and, according to Stan Lee, Atlas survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply. During this time, the Comic Code Authority made its debut in September 1954, Wertham published the book Seduction of the Innocent in order to force people to see that comics were impacting American youth. He believed violent comics were causing children to be reckless and were turning them into delinquents, in September 1954, comic book publishers got together to set up their own self-censorship organization—the Comics Magazine Association of America—in order to appease audiences

4.
Tales to Astonish
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Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968 and it became The Incredible Hulk with issue #102. Its sister title was Tales of Suspense, a second Marvel comic bearing the name, reprinting stories of the undersea ruler the Sub-Mariner, ran 14 issues from December 1979 to January 1981. A superhero one-shot followed in 1994, Tales to Astonish and its sister publication Tales of Suspense were both launched with a January 1959 cover date. One such story, The Man In The Ant Hill, in #27, introduced the character Henry Pym, anthological stories continued to appear as backups until Tales to Astonish became a superhero split book in 1964, when it began featuring one story each of Giant-Man and the Hulk. The series was plotted by Lee and scripted by Lieber, with penciling first by Kirby and later by Heck, the Wasp was introduced as Ant-Mans costar in issue #44. Aside from Lee and Lieber, occasional writers included Ernie Hart, under the pseudonym H. E. Huntley, Leon Lazarus and Al Hartley. Artists of the part of the run included Ditko, Ayers. The backup feature Tales of the Wasp used the superheroine as a device for anthological science-fiction stories, having her relate tales to hospitalized servicemen. The Wasp also starred in two subsequent solo backup stories, all were scripted and penciled by Lieber. The Hulk had proven a popular guest-star in three issues of Fantastic Four and an issue of The Amazing Spider-Man and his new stories here were initially scripted by Lee and illustrated by the seldom-seen team of penciler Steve Ditko and inker George Roussos. The Abomination first appeared in Tales to Astonish #90, and is introduced as a KGB agent, stan Lee chose the name the Abomination, which he realized belonged to no other character, before conceiving the characters background and appearance. Lee recalled that he simply told artist Gil Kane to make him bigger and stronger than the Hulk, namor the Sub-Mariner received his first feature in a decade beginning with #70. The Golden Age character Byrrah was reintroduced in issue #90, after the final issue of Tales to Astonish, the Sub-Mariner co-starred in the split-book one-shot Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1 before going on to his own 72-issue series. A second volume of Tales to Astonish, using the cover logo Tales to Astonish starring the Sub-Mariner, ran 14 issues, all but the last issue ran 18-page versions of the originally 20-page stories, with panels and text reworked to condense the plot. Covers repurposed the original art, with the premiere issues image flipped 180 degrees. 3, #1 was a 72-page, squarebound, one-shot special starring the Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, Ant-Man and the Wasp in the story Lokis Dream by writer Peter David, with painted art by John Estes

5.
Stan Lee
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Stan Lee is an American comic-book writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor, and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. In addition, he challenged the comics industrys censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation. He was inducted into the book industrys Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. Lee received a National Medal of Arts in 2008 and his father, trained as a dress cutter, worked only sporadically after the Great Depression, and the family moved further uptown to Fort Washington Avenue, in Washington Heights, Manhattan. When Lee was nearly 9, his sibling, brother Larry Lieber, was born. He said in 2006 that as a child he was influenced by books and movies, by the time Lee was in his teens, the family was living in a one-bedroom apartment at 1720 University Avenue in The Bronx. Lee has described it as an apartment facing out back, with he and his brother sharing a bedroom. Lee attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, in his youth, Lee enjoyed writing, and entertained dreams of one day writing the Great American Novel. He graduated from school early, aged 16½ in 1939. With the help of his uncle Robbie Solomon, Lee became an assistant in 1939 at the new Timely Comics division of pulp magazine, Timely, by the 1960s, would evolve into Marvel Comics. Lee, whose cousin Jean was Goodmans wife, was hired by Timely editor Joe Simon. His duties were prosaic at first, in those days dipped the pen in ink, I had to make sure the inkwells were filled, Lee recalled in 2009. I went down and got them their lunch, I did proofreading, Lee later explained in his autobiography and numerous other sources that he had intended to save his given name for more literary work. This initial story also introduced Captain Americas trademark ricocheting shield-toss, which became one of the characters signatures. He graduated from writing filler to actual comics with a feature, Headline Hunter, Foreign Correspondent. Lees first superhero co-creation was the Destroyer, in Mystic Comics #6, other characters he created during this period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comics include Jack Frost, debuting in USA Comics #1, and Father Time, debuting in Captain America Comics #6. When Simon and his creative partner Jack Kirby left late in 1941, following a dispute with Goodman, Lee entered the United States Army in early 1942 and served in the US in the Signal Corps, repairing telegraph poles and other communications equipment. He was later transferred to the Training Film Division, where he worked writing manuals, training films, and slogans and his military classification, he says, was playwright, he adds that only nine men in the US Army were given that title

6.
Jack Kirby
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Jack Kirby, born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer, and editor, widely regarded as one of the mediums major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. Kirby grew up in New York City, and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and he entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s, drawing various comics features under different pen names, including Jack Curtiss, before ultimately settling on Jack Kirby. In 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics, during the 1940s, Kirby, generally teamed with Simon, created numerous characters for that company and for National Comics Publications, later to become DC Comics. After serving in World War II, Kirby produced work for a number of publishers, including DC, Harvey Comics, at Crestwood Publications he and Simon created the genre of romance comics and later founded their own short-lived comic company, Mainline Publications. Ultimately, Kirby found himself at Timelys 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics, there, in the 1960s, Kirby and writer-editor Stan Lee co-created many of the companys major characters, including the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Hulk. The Lee-Kirby titles garnered high sales and critical acclaim, but in 1970, feeling he had been treated unfairly, at DC, Kirby created his Fourth World saga, which spanned several comics titles. While these series proved unsuccessful and were canceled, the Fourth Worlds New Gods have continued as a significant part of the DC Universe. Kirby returned to Marvel briefly in the mid-to-late 1970s, then ventured into television animation, Kirby was married to Rosalind Roz Goldstein in 1942. They had four children, and remained married until his death from heart failure in 1994, the Jack Kirby Awards and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame were named in his honor. Jack Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28,1917, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City and his parents, Rose and Benjamin Kurtzberg, were Austrian Jewish immigrants, and his father earned a living as a garment factory worker. In his youth, Kirby desired to escape his neighborhood and he liked to draw, and sought out places he could learn more about art. He was rejected by the Educational Alliance because he drew too fast with charcoal and he later found an outlet for his skills by drawing cartoons for the newspaper of the Boys Brotherhood Republic, a miniature city on East 3rd Street where street kids ran their own government. At age 14, Kirby enrolled at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, I wasnt the kind of student that Pratt was looking for. They wanted people who would work on something forever, I didnt want to work on any project forever. I intended to get things done, Kirby joined the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate in 1936, working there on newspaper comic strips and on single-panel advice cartoons such as Your Health Comes First. He remained until late 1939, when he began working for the animation company Fleischer Studios as an inbetweener on Popeye cartoons. I went from Lincoln to Fleischer, he recalled, from Fleischer I had to get out in a hurry because I couldnt take that kind of thing, describing it as a factory in a sense, like my fathers factory. Around that time, the American comic book industry was booming, Kirby began writing and drawing for the comic-book packager Eisner & Iger, one of a handful of firms creating comics on demand for publishers

7.
Avengers (comics)
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The Avengers are a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, labeled Earths Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers originally consisted of Hank Pym, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and the Wasp. The original Captain America was discovered, trapped in ice, a rotating roster became a hallmark, although one theme remained consistent, the Avengers fight the foes no single superhero can withstand. The team, famous for its battle cry of Avengers Assemble. has featured humans, mutants, inhumans, robots, aliens, supernatural beings, and even former villains. The team has appeared in a variety of media outside of comic books including a number of different animated television series. A second Avengers film titled Avengers, Age of Ultron was released on May 1,2015, the team debuted in The Avengers #1. Much like the Justice League, the Avengers were an assemblage of pre-existing superhero characters created by Lee, between 1996 and 2004, Marvel relaunched the primary Avengers title three times. In 1996, the Heroes Reborn line took place in an alternate universe, the Avengers vol.3 relaunched and ran for 84 issues from February 1998 to August 2004. In January 2005, a new version of the team appeared in the ongoing title The New Avengers, followed by The Mighty Avengers, Avengers, The Initiative, Avengers vol.4 debuted in July 2010 and ran until January 2013. Vol.5 was launched in February 2013, after Secret Wars, a new Avengers team debuted, dubbed the All-New, All-Different Avengers, starting with a Free Comic Book Day preview. After the group vanquished Loki, Ant-Man stated that the five worked well together and suggested they form a team, Captain America soon joined the team in issue #4, and he was given founding member status in the Hulks place. The Avengers went on to fight such as Baron Zemo, who formed the Masters of Evil, Kang the Conqueror, Wonder Man. The next milestone came when every member but Captain America resigned, Giant-Man, now calling himself Goliath, and the Wasp rejoined. Hercules became part of the team, while the Black Knight, Spider-Man was offered membership but did not join the group. The Black Panther joined after rescuing the team from the Grim Reaper, the X-Men #45 featured a crossover with The Avengers #53. This was followed by the introduction of the android the Vision, Pym assumed the new identity of Yellowjacket in issue #59, and married the Wasp the following month. The Avengers headquarters was in a New York City building called Avengers Mansion, the team encountered new characters such as Arkon in issue #75, and Red Wolf in #80. The Avengers briefly disband when Skrulls impersonating Captain America, Thor, the true founding Avengers, minus the Wasp, reformed the team in response after complaints from Jarvis

8.
Uncanny Avengers
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Uncanny Avengers is an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that debuted in October 2012 with the launch of Marvel NOW. The series centers on a team composed of members of both the Avengers and X-Men that comes together following the conclusion of the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline. Within the Marvel Universe itself, the team is known as the Avengers Unity Squad, Marvel Comics announced Uncanny Avengers by the creative team of Rick Remender and John Cassaday in August 2012. Uncanny Avengers is a new team of Avengers that features a line-up of both classic Avengers and X-Men including Captain America, Havok, Rogue, the Scarlet Witch, Thor, the team is formed in response to the events of Avengers vs. X-Men. Remender said, There’s something that Cyclops said to on Utopia that’s ringing in his head and he didn’t do enough to help. And Steve is taking that to heart, coming out of AvX with the landscape shifted and changed as much as it is, there are events that lead Steve to recognizing that he needs to do more. In October 2014, a volume of Uncanny Avengers was announced to start in January 2015, drawn by Daniel Acuña. The second series was cancelled with Issue #5 in May 2015, the roster for the second volume included Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Rogue, Quicksilver, Vision, Sabretooth and Doctor Voodoo. The third volume began in October 2015, and is written by Gerry Duggan with art by Ryan Stegman. Wolverine gives a eulogy at the funeral of Professor X, which is held at the Jean Grey School, afterwards, Captain America and Thor meet with Havok, where Captain America offers him the chance to lead a new Avengers team. They are attacked by a lobotomized Avalanche and unite to defeat him while saving as many civilians as possible. While paying her respects to Professor X at his grave, Scarlet Witch is confronted by Rogue about her role in everything that has happened to the X-Men, while arguing, they are attacked by Red Skulls S-Men, who defeat them both and steal Professor Xs body. In his lair, the Red Skull is seen removing Professor Xs brain as part of his plan to gain the power to eradicate the mutant menace. While looking for survivors after Avalanches attack, Wolverine questions Captain Americas choice of having Havok lead the team, meanwhile, through a televised appearance of Honest John, the Living Propaganda, Red Skull is able to make certain people kill their mutated friends. Red Skull arrives and reveals that he has fused his brain with Professor Xs brain, Red Skull also reveals that he is a clone of the original Red Skull that was created in 1942 and held in cryogenic stasis in the event that Germany lost World War II. When fighting Wolverine, Red Skull has Goat-Faced Girl negate Wolverines healing factor so that Thor can land a blow on Wolverine. However, Red Skull is unable to completely control Captain America, as the Scarlet Witch fights the mind-controlled Thor, Red Skull once again tries to tempt Captain America into joining his anti-mutant crusade. With some help from Havok, Scarlet Witch removes Thor from the battle allowing Havok, with the people around them free, Havok tells them that the attacks on the mutants wasnt their fault

9.
Hank Pym
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Dr. Henry Hank Pym is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciler Jack Kirby and he is a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers. Michael Douglas portrays the character in the 2015 Marvel Studios film Ant-Man, Hank Pym debuted in a seven-page solo cover story titled The Man in the Ant Hill in the science fiction/fantasy anthology Tales to Astonish #27. That sold so well that I thought making him into a superhero might be fun, the characters adventures became an ongoing feature in the title. Issue #44 featured the debut of his girlfriend and laboratory assistant Janet van Dyne. Janet adopted the identity of the Wasp, and co-starred in Pyms subsequent appearances in Tales to Astonish. Wasp also on occasion acted as a framing-sequence host for backup stories in the title, in September 1963, Lee and Kirby created the superhero title The Avengers, and Ant-Man and Wasp were established in issue #1 as founding members of the team. Decades later, Lee theorized as to why Ant-Man never became one of our top sellers or had his own book, saying, I loved Ant-Man, but the stories were never really successful. In order for Ant-Man to be successful, he had to be drawn this small next to big things, the artists who drew him, no matter how much I kept reminding them, they kept forgetting that fact. They would draw him standing on a tabletop and they would draw a heroic-looking guy, I would say, Draw a matchbook cover next to him, so we see the difference in size. So when you would look at the panels, you thought you were looking at a guy wearing an underwear costume like all of them. Pym began what would be a constant shifting of superhero identities in Tales to Astonish, Pym and van Dyne continued to costar in the title until issue #69, while simultaneously appearing in The Avengers until issue #15, after which the couple temporarily left the team. Pym rejoined the Avengers and adopted the new identity Goliath in Avengers #28, gradually falling to mental strain, he adopted the fourth superhero identity Yellowjacket in issue #59. Pym reappeared as Ant-Man in Avengers #93 and for issues #4–10 starred in the story of the first volume of Marvel Feature. After appearing occasionally as Yellowjacket in the 1980s and battling mental and emotional issues, Pym joined the West Coast Avengers as a scientist and inventor in West Coast Avengers vol. The character returned to the Avengers as the superhero Giant-Man in The Avengers vol, when the team disbanded after a series of tragedies, Pym, using the Yellowjacket persona again, took a leave of absence beginning with vol. Giant-Man appeared as a character in Avengers Academy from issue #1 through its final issue #39. Pym returned as the Wasp in the mini-series Ant-Man & The Wasp, after Secret Avengers, Pym joined the Avengers A. I. after beating his creation, Ultron

10.
Superheroine
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A female superhero is sometimes called a superheroine. Fiction centered on characters, especially in American comic books since the 1930s, is known as superhero fiction. By most definitions, characters do not require actual supernatural or superhuman powers or phenomena to be deemed superheroes, some superheroes use their powers to counter daily crime while also combating threats against humanity from supervillains, who are their criminal counterparts. Often at least one of these supervillains will be the superheros archenemy, some long-running superheroes such as Iron Man, Captain America, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Spider-Man have a rogues gallery of many villains. The word superhero dates to at least 1917, antecedents of the archetype include such folkloric heroes as Robin Hood, who adventured in distinctive clothing. The 1903 play The Scarlet Pimpernel and its spinoffs popularized the idea of a masked avenger, during the 1940s there were many superheroes, and only a few of these were female. The Flash, Green Lantern and Blue Beetle debuted in this era, most of the other female costumed crime-fighters during this era lacked superpowers. The most iconic comic book superheroine, who debuted during the Golden Age, is Wonder Woman, inspired by the Amazons of Greek mythology, she was created by psychologist William Moulton Marston, with help and inspiration from his wife Elizabeth and their mutual lover Olive Byrne. Wonder Womans first appearance was in All Star Comics #8, published by All-American Publications, in 1952, Osamu Tezukas manga Tetsuwan Atom was published. The series focused upon a robot boy built by a scientist to replace his deceased son, the 1950s saw the Silver Age of Comics. During this era DC introduced the likes of Batwoman in 1956, Supergirl, Miss Arrowette,1958 saw the debut of superhero Moonlight Mask on Japanese television. In 1963, Astro Boy was adapted into a highly influential anime television series, Phantom Agents in 1964 focused on ninjas working for the Japanese government and would be the foundation for Sentai-type series. Another important event was the debut of Mazinger Z by Go Nagai, Go Nagai also wrote the manga Cutey Honey in 1973, although the Magical Girl genre already existed, Nagais manga introduced Transformation sequences that would become a staple of Magical Girl media. The dark Skull Man manga would later get a television adaptation, the protagonist was redesigned resemble a grasshopper, becoming the renowned first masked hero of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider is a motorcycle riding hero in an insect-like costume, both major publishers began introducing new superheroines with a more distinct feminist theme as part of their origin stories or character development. Examples include Big Barda, Power Girl, and the Huntress by DC comics, and from Marvel, the second Black Widow, Shanna the She-Devil, and The Cat. In 1975 Shotaro Ishinomoris Himitsu Sentai Gorenger debuted on what is now TV Asahi, it brought the concepts of multi-colored teams, in 1978, Toei adapted Spider-Man into a live-action series. In subsequent decades, popular characters like Dazzler, She-Hulk, Elektra, Catwoman, Witchblade, Spider-Girl, Batgirl, volume 4 of the X-Men comic book series featured an all-female team as part of the Marvel NOW. branding initiative in 2013

11.
American comic book
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An American comic book is a thin periodical, typically 32-pages, containing primarily comics content. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics and this was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II. After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the book industry rapidly expanded, and genres such as horror, crime. The 1950s saw a decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television. The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a revival. Since the later 20th century, comic books have gained note as collectable items, Comic shops cater to fans, and particularly valuable issues have fetched in excess of a million dollars. Systems of grading comic books have emerged with plastic sleeves and cardboard backing available to maintain the condition of comic books, standard comics are 6.625 inches ×10.25 inches and about 32 pages long. While comics can be the work of a creator, the labour of making them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a writer and artist, or there may be separate artists for the characters. The process begins with the coming up with an idea or concept, then working it into a plot and story. After the art production, letters are placed on the page, the creative team, the writers and artists, may work with a comic book publisher for help with marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A distributor like Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest in the U. S. helps to distribute the product to retailers. Another part of the involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator. Fan art and letters to the editor were printed in the back of the book until the early 21st century. Comic specialty stores did help encourage several waves of independently-produced comics, the development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the U. S, the Yellow Kid in McFaddens Flats, in 1897. The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes text by E. W. Townsend, measured 5×7 inches. The neologism comic book appears on the back cover, despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Companys Comic Monthly, did not appear until 1922

12.
IGN
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The website was the brainchild of media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29,1996. It focuses on games, films, television, comics, technology, the company is located in San Franciscos SOMA district in California, United States. Originally a network of websites, IGN is now distributed on mobile platforms, console programs on the Xbox and PlayStation, FireTV, Roku, and via YouTube, Twitch, Hulu. IGN was sold to publishing company Ziff Davis in February 2013 and now operates as a J2 Global subsidiary. com, PSXPower, Saturnworld, Next-Generation. com and Ultra Game Players Online. Imagine expanded on its owned-and-operated websites by creating a network that included a number of independent fansites such as PSX Nation. com, Sega-Saturn. com, Game Sages. In 1998, the network launched a new homepage that consolidated the individual sites as system channels under the IGN brand, the homepage exposed content from more than 30 different channels. Next-Generation and Ultra Game Players Online were not part of this consolidation, dissolved with the cancellation of the magazine, and Next-Generation was put on hold when Imagine decided to concentrate on launching the short-lived Daily Radar brand. In February 1999, Imagine Media incorporated a spin-off that included IGN and its channels as Affiliation Networks. In September, the newly spun-out standalone internet media company, changed its name to Snowball. com, at the same time, small entertainment website The Den merged into IGN and added non-gaming content to the growing network. Snowball held an IPO in 2000, but shed most of its properties during the dot-com bubble. In June 2005, IGN reported having 24,000,000 unique visitors per month, with 4.8 million registered users through all departments of the site, IGN is ranked among the top 200 most-visited websites according to Alexa. In September 2005, IGN was acquired by Rupert Murdochs multi-media business empire, News Corporation, IGN celebrated its 10th anniversary on January 12,2008. IGN was headquartered in the Marina Point Parkway office park in Brisbane, California, on May 25,2011, IGN sold its Direct2Drive division to Gamefly for an undisclosed amount. In 2011, IGN Entertainment acquired its rival UGO Entertainment from Hearst Corporation, ultimately, News Corp. planned to spin off IGN Entertainment as a publicly traded company, continuing a string of divestitures for digital properties it had previously acquired. Financial details regarding the purchase were not revealed, prior to its acquisition by UGO, 1UP. com had previously been owned by Ziff Davis. Soon after the acquisition, IGN announced that it would be laying off staff and closing GameSpy, 1UP. com, the role-playing video game interest website Vault Network was acquired by IGN in 1999. GameStats, a review website, was founded by IGN in 2004. GameStats includes a GPM rating system incorporates an average press score and average gamer score

13.
Comics Buyer's Guide
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Comics Buyers Guide, established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyers Guide Fan Awards from 1982–2008, the publication ceased with the March 2013 issue. The magazine was headquartered in Iola, Wisconsin, CBG was founded in February 1971 by Alan Light under the title The Buyers Guide to Comics Fandom as a monthly newspaper in a tabloid format. TBG began primarily as an advertising venue – known in comics fandom as an adzine, frantz also provides background on Lights interaction with the WE Seal of approval program, with which he cooperated in order to help combat mail fraud. Frantz in addition describes the infamous long-running feud between Light and Comics Journal founder Gary Groth, tBGs frequency was changed to twice-monthly with issue #18. Besides occasional letter columns, beginning with issue #19, prominent fans Don and Maggie Thompson began a monthly column, a news column, What Now. by Murray Bishoff, was added with #26. These provided the editorial content required by the United States Postal Service to qualify for second class mail, TBG went weekly with issue #86. Cat Yronwode succeeded Bishoff as news reporter with issue #329, renaming the column “Fit to Print, in 1983 The Buyers Guide was purchased by Krause Publications. Columnists Don and Maggie Thompson were hired as editors, Krause changed the name with their first issue #482 to Comics Buyers Guide. At that time Krause instituted the controversial CBG Customer Service Award, writer Peter Davids column, But I Digress. The magazine added Mark Evaniers column P. O. V. in late 1994, in 1992, the magazine spun off its distributor and retailer news into a separate periodical, Comics & Games Retailer. Co-editor Don Thompson died in May 23,1994, in 1998, Krause brought on John Jackson Miller as managing editor and Brent Frankenhoff as projects editor, with Maggie Thompson remaining as editor. Frankenhoff was promoted to CBG Editor in 2006, with Maggie Thompson assuming the title of Senior Editor, in July 2002, Krause was acquired by F+W Publications. With issue #1595, CBG changed its format from a tabloid to a monthly perfect bound magazine. In July 2005, the magazine began archiving past features at its CBGXtra. com service, in late 2009, CBGs page count was reduced, the perfect binding ended, and some of the features changed, including the removal of the price guide listings. On January 9,2013, Krause Publications announced the cancellation of Comics Buyer’s Guide effective with issue #1699, the website CBGXtra and its Facebook page will continued as archived resources. Alter Ego #122 is an issue devoted to Comics Buyers Guide with features regarding what would have made the 1700th CBG issue if the magazine had continued. A complete collection of CBG and its predecessor is held by the Michigan State University Comic Art Collection, CBG hosted many columns over the years in addition to Don and Maggie Thompsons Beautiful Balloons, Murray Bishoffs What Now. and Cat Yronwodes Fit to Print

14.
Ant-Man (film)
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Ant-Man is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name, Scott Lang and Hank Pym. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the twelfth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Peyton Reed, with a screenplay by Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish and Adam McKay & Paul Rudd, Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, and Michael Douglas. In Ant-Man, Lang must help defend Pyms Ant-Man shrinking technology, development of Ant-Man began in April 2006, with the hiring of Wright to direct and co-write with Cornish. By April 2011, Wright and Cornish had completed three drafts of the script and Wright shot test footage for the film in July 2012, pre-production began in October 2013 after being put on hold so that Wright could complete The Worlds End. Casting began in December 2013, with the hiring of Rudd to play Lang, in May 2014, Wright left the project, citing creative differences, though he still received screenplay and story credits with Cornish, as well as an executive producer credit. The following month, Reed was brought in to replace Wright, principal photography took place between August and December 2014 in San Francisco and Metro Atlanta. Ant-Man held its premiere in Los Angeles on June 29,2015. A sequel, titled Ant-Man and the Wasp, is scheduled to be released on July 6,2018, in 1989, scientist Hank Pym resigns from S. H. I. E. L. D. After discovering their attempt to replicate his Ant-Man shrinking technology, believing the technology is dangerous, Pym vows to hide it as long as he lives. In the present day, Pyms estranged daughter, Hope van Dyne, Cross is close to perfecting a shrinking suit of his own, the Yellowjacket, which horrifies Pym. Upon his release from prison, well-meaning thief Scott Lang moves in with his old cellmate, Lang visits his daughter Cassie unannounced and is chastised by his former wife Maggie and her police-detective fiancé, Paxton, for not providing child support. Unable to hold a job because of his record, Lang agrees to join Luis crew. Lang breaks into a house and cracks its safe, but only finds what he believes to be an old motorcycle suit, after trying the suit on, Lang accidentally shrinks himself to the size of an insect. Terrified by the experience, he returns the suit to the house, Pym, the homeowner, visits Lang in jail and smuggles the suit into his cell to help him break out. Pym, who manipulated Lang through an unknowing Luis into stealing the suit as a test, having been spying on Cross after discovering his intentions, van Dyne helps Pym train Lang to fight and to control ants. Pym warns Lang that he could suffer a similar fate if he overrides his suits regulator and they send him to steal a device that will aid their heist from the Avengers headquarters, where he briefly fights Sam Wilson. Cross perfects the Yellowjacket and hosts a ceremony at Pym Technologies headquarters

15.
Michelle Pfeiffer
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Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress, singer and producer. She began her career in 1978 and had her first starring film role in Grease 2. Her greatest commercial successes include Batman Returns, Dangerous Minds, What Lies Beneath and she received a third Oscar nomination for Love Field. Her other notable roles include The Witches of Eastwick, Married to the Mob, Frankie and Johnny, The Age of Innocence, Wolf. Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California, the second of four children of Richard Pfeiffer, a contractor, and Donna. She has one brother, Rick, and two younger sisters, Dedee Pfeiffer, a television and film actress, and Lori Pfeiffer. Her parents were originally from North Dakota. The family moved to Midway City, where Pfeiffer spent her childhood and she attended Fountain Valley High School, graduating in 1976. She worked as a girl at Vons supermarket, and attended Golden West College where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After a short stint training to be a stenographer, she decided upon an acting career. She won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978, and participated in Miss California the same year, following her participation in these pageants, she acquired an acting agent and began to audition for television and films. Pfeiffers early acting appearances included roles in Fantasy Island, Delta House. In the meantime, I was playing bimbos and cashing in on my looks and she then landed her first major film role as Stephanie Zinone in Grease 2, the sequel to the smash-hit musical Grease. The film was a critical and commercial failure, and Pfeiffers single release of Cool Rider from the soundtrack on PolyGram failed to dent the music charts. Despite escaping the critical mauling, Pfeiffers agent later admitted that her association with the film meant that she couldnt get any jobs. Director Brian De Palma, having seen Grease 2, refused to audition Pfeiffer for Scarface, but relented at the insistence of Martin Bregman and she was cast as cocaine-addicted trophy wife Elvira Hancock. The film was considered violent by most critics, but became a commercial hit. Pfeiffer received positive reviews for her turn, Richard Corliss of Time Magazine wrote, most of the large cast is fine

16.
Ernie Hart
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Ernest Huntley Hart, also known as H. E. Huntley, is an American comic-book writer and artist best known for creating Marvel Comics funny animal character Super Rabbit, in addition, he variously wrote, edited and illustrated numerous books on dog breeding and ownership. During the 1930s, Ernie Hart painted murals for the Works Progress Administration, Super Rabbit, an animal superhero in lighthearted childrens adventures, debuted in Comedy Comics #14. Cartoonist Al Jaffee, then a fellow Timely editor, recalled in 2004, Ernie was a very lively guy, very funny and he was an editor with Don Rico, and the two of them shared an office. Both men could write and draw, Ernie did humor work and Don edited certain titles. This was all post-World War II, one day, Stan called me in and said, I want you to edit the teenage books. That may have been because Ernie left the company, because I do not recall Ernie editing anything but teenage and he drew cover art for Alan Kirks TFH book on Scottish terriers and Allan Eastons on Shih Tzus. In 1965, he returned to a position at TFH, by then based in Jersey City. Hart remained on staff for Marvel Comics 1950s predecessor Atlas Comics, Hart, occasionally signing his work EHH, also did stories for Charlton Comics, including writing and drawing issues of the horse series Rocky Lanes Black Jack in the late 1950s. In 1957, Charlton named him editor of its newly launched magazine Real West. Hart was of Spanish and Portuguese heritage, during his 1940s stint writing for Timely Comics, Hart lived in New Haven, Connecticut and commuted to New York City with his scripts. At the time he was living with his first wife and their sons, Allan and Lance. When Lance was 9 years old, in the early 1950s, the moved to Orange, Connecticut. He remarried following his divorce from his first wife and he and his second wife, Kay, lived for a year on Spains Costa del Sol, returning to the U. S. in June 1965. They then moved to Scotch Plains, New Jersey, to be closer to his work, in 1968, Hart moved to Clearwater, Florida, He lived there at the time of his death, though his death certificate was issued in Connecticut. It portrays cavemen, cape hunting dogs, a policeman with a German Shepherd, hunters with pointers and setters, an old lady with a pet. ISBN 978-0876662984 Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds, ISBN 978-0876662854 Living with Pets, A complete guide to choosing and caring for all kinds of pets. ISBN 978-0814907788 The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators Schenk, Ramon, archived from the original on March 5,2008

17.
The Avengers (comic)
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The Avengers is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Avengers and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original The Avengers comic book series which debuted in 1963. In 1960, DC Comics launched a book series featuring a team of superheroes called the Justice League. Impressed by that books strong sales, Martin Goodman, the owner of Marvel Comics predecessor Timely Comics, Lee recounts in Origins of Marvel Comics, Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes, if the Justice League is selling, spoke he, why dont we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes. Much like the Justice League, the Avengers were an assemblage of pre-existing superhero characters created by Lee, Kirby did the artwork for the first eight issues only, in addition to doing the layouts for issue #16. Marvel filed for a trademark for The Avengers in 1967 and the United States Patent, between 1996 and 2004, Marvel relaunched the primary Avengers title three times. In 1996, the Heroes Reborn line, in which Marvel contracted outside companies to produce four titles and it took place in an alternate universe, with a revamped history unrelated to mainstream Marvel continuity. The Avengers vol.2 was written by Rob Liefeld and penciled by Jim Valentino, the final issue, which featured a crossover with the other Heroes Reborn titles, returned the characters to the main Marvel Universe. The Avengers vol.3 relaunched and ran for 84 issues from February 1998 to August 2004, Avengers vol.4 debuted in July 2010 and ran until January 2013. Vol.5 was launched in February 2013, after Secret Wars, a new Avengers team debuted, dubbed the All-New, All-Different Avengers, starting with a Free Comic Book Day preview. The roster changed almost immediately after the first issue, at the beginning of the issue, Ant-Man became Giant-Man, and at the end of the issue. Issue #4 brought the titles first major milestone, the revival, the creative team of writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema introduced new characters such as Arkon in issue #75 and Red Wolf in #80. Novelist Harlan Ellison plotted two stories for the series, the first was published in issue #88 and the second in #101. Writer Steve Englehart introduced Mantis, who joined the team along with the reformed Swordsman, during the summer of 1973, Englehart and artists Bob Brown and Sal Buscema produced The Avengers-Defenders Clash storyline which crossed over between the two team titles. George Pérez became the titles artist with issue #141 which saw the start of a story featuring the Squadron Supreme. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Engleharts run on The Avengers eighth on its list of the Top 10 1970s Marvels, shooter introduced the character of Henry Peter Gyrich, the Avengers liaison to the United States National Security Council. The true origins of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were revealed in a story that ran in issues #185-187. Stern developed several major storylines, such as Ultimate Vision, the formation of the West Coast Avengers, rogue, who would later become a member of the X-Men, was introduced in The Avengers Annual #10 by writer Chris Claremont and artist Michael Golden

18.
Marvel Feature
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Marvel Feature was the name of two comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. The first volume led to the launch of The Defenders and Marvel Two-in-One, the first series was published for twelve issues from December 1971 until November 1973. The lead story in Marvel Feature #1, by writer Roy Thomas and artist Ross Andru, featured the first team-up of the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the issue included a new Dr. Strange solo tale. The Defenders continued as the stars of Marvel Feature for two issues and then received their own self-titled series in August 1972, The Defenders. Marvel Feature #3 saw the Defenders battle Xemnu, a huge, furry, issues #7-10 each featured three separate Ant-Man stories and included art by P. Craig Russell. The final issue also reprinted stories from the Tales to Astonish series. Marvel Feature #11 featured a battle between the Thing of the Fantastic Four and the Hulk, the final issue teamed the Thing and Iron Man, and featured an early Thanos appearance. Both issues were penciled by Jim Starlin, the second series featured Red Sonja, a supporting character from the ancient fantasy world of Conan the Barbarian. It was published for seven issues from November 1975 until November 1976, Roy Thomas wrote issues #1, #6, and #7, while Bruce Jones scripted the other issues. Except for issue #1, drawn by Dick Giordano, the art for the series was by the creator most associated with Red Sonja, the character then received her own self-titled series in January 1977

19.
Captain America
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Captain America is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 from Timely Comics, Captain America was designed as a patriotic supersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely Comics most popular character during the wartime period. The popularity of superheroes waned following the war and the Captain America comic book was discontinued in 1950, since Marvel Comics revived the character in 1964, Captain America has remained in publication. Captain America wears a costume that bears an American flag motif, near the end of the war, he was trapped in ice and survived in suspended animation until he was revived in the present day. Captain America was the first Marvel Comics character to have appeared in media outside comics with the release of the 1944 movie serial, in 1940, writer Joe Simon conceived the idea for Captain America and made a sketch of the character in costume. I wrote the name Super American at the bottom of the page, Simon said in his autobiography, there were too many Supers around. Captain America had a sound to it. There werent a lot of captains in comics, the boy companion was simply named Bucky, after my friend Bucky Pierson, a star on our high school basketball team. Simon recalled in his autobiography that Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman gave him the go-ahead, there were two young artists from Connecticut that had made a strong impression on me. Al Avison and Al Gabriele often worked together and were successful in adapting their individual styles to each other. Actually, their work was not too far from Kirbys, if they worked on it, and if one inker tied the three styles together, I believed the final product would emerge as quite uniform. The two Als were eager to join in on the new Captain America book, but Jack Kirby was visibly upset, youre still number one, Jack, I assured him. Its just a matter of a deadline for the first issue. Ill make the deadline, Jack promised, ill pencil it myself and make the deadline. I hadnt expected this kind of reaction, but I acceded to Kirbys wishes and, it turned out, was lucky that I did. There might have been two Als, but there was only one Jack Kirby, I wrote the first Captain America book with penciled lettering right on the drawing boards, with very rough sketches for figures and backgrounds. Kirby did his thing, building the muscular anatomy, adding ideas, then he tightened up the penciled drawings, adding detailed backgrounds, faces and figures. Al Liederman would ink that first issue, which was lettered by Simon and Kirbys regular letterer and we wanted to have our say too

20.
Iron Man
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Iron Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, the character made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39. He instead creates a suit of armor to save his life. Later, Stark augments his suit with weapons and other technological devices he designed through his company and he uses the suit and successive versions to protect the world as Iron Man, while at first concealing his true identity. Initially, Iron Man was a vehicle for Stan Lee to explore Cold War themes, particularly the role of American technology, subsequent re-imaginings of Iron Man have transitioned from Cold War themes to contemporary concerns, such as corporate crime and terrorism. Iron Man has been adapted for several animated TV shows and films, the character is portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in the live action film Iron Man, which was a critical and box office success. Iron Man was ranked 12th on IGNs Top 100 Comic Book Heroes in 2011, in 1963, Lee had been toying with the idea of a businessman superhero. He wanted to create the quintessential capitalist, a character that would go against the spirit of the times, Lee said, I think I gave myself a dare. It was the height of the Cold War, the readers, the young readers, if there was one thing they hated, it was war, it was the military. So I got a hero who represented that to the hundredth degree. He set out to make the new character a wealthy, glamorous ladies man, writer Gerry Conway said, Here you have this character, who on the outside is invulnerable, I mean, just cant be touched, but inside is a wounded figure. Stan made it very much an in-your-face wound, you know, his heart was broken, you know, but theres a metaphor going on there. And thats, I think, what made that character interesting, Lee based this playboys looks and personality on Howard Hughes, explaining, Howard Hughes was one of the most colorful men of our time. He was an inventor, an adventurer, a multi-billionaire, a ladies man, without being crazy, he was Howard Hughes, Lee said. While Lee intended to write the story himself, a minor deadline emergency eventually forced him to hand over the issue to Lieber. The art was split between Kirby and Heck and he designed the costume, Heck said of Kirby, because he was doing the cover. The covers were always done first, but I created the look of the characters, like Tony Stark and his secretary Pepper Potts. In a 1990 interview, when asked if he had a model for Tony Stark. Heck replied No, I would be thinking more along the lines of some characters I like, which would be the kind of characters that Alex Toth liked

21.
Fantastic Four
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The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1, which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium. As the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics, it formed a cornerstone of the companys 1960s rise from a division of a publishing company to a pop culture conglomerate. Since their original 1961 introduction, the Fantastic Four have been portrayed as a dysfunctional, yet loving. Breaking convention with other comic book archetypes of the time, they would squabble, the Fantastic Four have been adapted into other media, including four animated series and four live-action films. According to Lee, writing in 1974, Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes, if the Justice League is selling, spoke he, why dont we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes. Determined to carve a career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books, Lee concluded that, For just this once. Lee said he created a synopsis for the first Fantastic Four story that he gave to penciller Jack Kirby, Kirby turned in his penciled art pages to Lee, who added dialogue and captions. Kirby claims he came up with the idea for the Fantastic Four in Marvels offices, Kirby also sought to establish, more credibly and on numerous occasions, that the visual elements of the strip were his conceptions. He regularly pointed to a team he had created for rival publisher DC Comics in the 1950s, F you notice the uniforms, theyre the same. I always give them a skintight uniform with a belt, the Challengers and the FF have a minimum of decoration. And of course, the Things skin is a kind of decoration, the chest insignia of a 4 within a circle, however, was designed by Lee. The characters wear no uniforms in the first two issues, given the conflicting statements, outside commentators have found it hard to identify with precise detail who created the Fantastic Four. Comics historian R. C. Harvey believes that the Fantastic Four was a furtherance of the work Kirby had been doing previously, but Harvey notes that the Marvel Method of collaboration allowed each man to claim credit, and that Lees dialogue added to the direction the team took. Wells argues that it was Lees contributions which set the framework within which Kirby worked, and this made Lee more responsible. Comics historian Mark Evanier, an assistant to Jack Kirby in the 1970s, says that the considered opinion of Lee and Kirbys contemporaries was that Fantastic Four was created by Stan. No further division of credit seemed appropriate, the release of The Fantastic Four #1 was an unexpected success

22.
West Coast Avengers
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The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in The West Coast Avengers #1, created by Roger Stern, the West Coast Avengers first appear in a four-issue limited series published from September to December 1984. The series was written by Roger Stern and drawn by Bob Hall and this was followed by a 102-issue series of the same name that ran from October 1985 to January 1994. The series was written by Steve Englehart and drawn by Al Milgrom. From issue #42 to 57 the title was written and illustrated by John Byrne, the series was renamed Avengers West Coast on the cover of issue #47 and in the indicia in issue #48. Writers Roy and Dann Thomas and artist Paul Ryan became the new team with issue #60. The second series was accompanied by eight annuals published from 1986 to 1993, the team is founded by the Avenger Hawkeye in response to a suggestion by android and fellow Avenger the Vision, who at the time wished to expand Avengers influence. Hawkeye recruits Mockingbird, Wonder Man, Tigra, and Iron Man, with the last actually being Jim Rhodes as opposed to Tony Stark, together the team defeat a petty criminal called the Blank and later the Avengers foe Graviton. The Fantastic Four member the Thing and the heroine Firebird briefly ally themselves with the team, henry Pym, who is saved by Firebird from a suicide attempt, and the adventurer Moon Knight formally join, while Iron Man is expelled for his actions during the Armor Wars. The Lost in Space-Time storyline began in issue #17 when Dominus sent the team back in time. The marriage of Hawkeye and Mockingbird is placed in jeopardy when, during this arc, after a trip to Hungary to investigate a report on Pyms second wife, the Wasp, the Scarlet Witch, and the Vision assist the team. Mockingbird, Tigra and Moon Knight leave the team together as a new short lived team called the Ex-WACOs over the Avengers rule of not killing in regards to Mockingbirds encounter with Phantom Rider, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch join the team as to not leave it short handed. Former Avenger ally Mantis makes a brief appearance, agents from multiple governments then abduct the Vision and dismantle him due to his return to the team. The Avengers recover the parts and Dr. Pym rebuilds the Vision and this, along with damage to the Visions synthetic skin when he was dismantled, results in the synthezoids resurrection as a colorless and emotionless artificial human. Agent is assigned to the team as a watchdog by the US government to monitor the teams activities, a group of odd super-humans decide to mimic the Avengers and become the Great Lakes Avengers, while the original Human Torch returns from his own apparent demise. This casts doubt on the Visions identity, who was believed to have been created from the Torchs body. The twins were absorbed back into Mephisto, which drives the Scarlet Witch insane. Although she eventually recovers, the Scarlet Witch and the Vision separate, Iron Man rejoins, and the mutant Quicksilver aids the team when the Scarlet Witch aids their father Magneto during a period in which she suffers from a mental breakdown

23.
Avengers Disassembled
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Avengers Disassembled is a crossover event involving the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor. Avengers Disassembled saw the beginning of Brian Michael Bendis Avengers run with the destruction of the existing traditional roster, the other crossover stories intersect or take place prior or after to the main Avengers story-line. Sending Jack of Hearts to the Avengers mansion, the zombified hero explodes damaging the mansion. Ant Man, who approached his former teammate, is killed in the blast but in truth is teleported away by future versions of his daughter, Cassie Lang, and her teammates. With Ant Man presumed dead, Doom orders Wanda to send Vision to crash into the partially damaged Avengers Mansion causing more damage, elsewhere, the mind-controlled Wanda arrives at the United Nations where she has a conversation with Captain America who announces that he is ending their fledgling relationship. Attempting to pick a fight with the Latverian ambassador, the Avengers UN charter is revoked as Iron Man leaves Hank Pym in the lurch to respond to the Code White from the Avengers mansion. Leaving the Avengers Quinjet he crashed, Vision warns the Avengers of Dooms plan to destroy the team, ultimately, She-Hulk is subdued by Iron Man and Captain America as Hank Pym joins them and rushes Wasp to the hospital. Returning, Hank reveals to Cap and the team of Iron Mans drunken outburst at the UN and the UNs decision to revoke their charter. As the super-hero community gathers at the mansion, the Avengers do not know several of the members are constructs created by the possessed Wanda on behalf of Doctor Doom to spy on the Avengers. As the Avengers fear that Ultron may be behind the attack, in the ensuing battle, Hawkeye is killed when his arrows are hit causing their explosives to go off. In his dying moments, Hawkeye takes out a Kree battleship in the blast after taking flight with a commandeered Kree jet pack, in the wake of Hawkeyes death, Doctor Strange suddenly appears for the first time since the Dark Dimension invasion several months prior. The Avengers visit Agatha Harknesss home, where the Life Force possessed Wanda has been left alone by Doom to eliminate the Avengers, however, by this point, Professor X sends Magneto to retrieve Wanda from the Avengers, much to Captain Americas dismay and horror. Reluctantly he allows Magneto to take his daughter with him after he vows to help her. The story ends with a flashback to Avengers #16, as Wanda, Hawkeye, and Quicksilver are inducted into the Avengers roster as Iron Man, Wasp, Giant Man, and Thor leave the team. Iron Man eventually defeats his impersonator and bring down the ring of corrupt senators who were behind the murder, a mystic force that is the living embodiment of Ragnarok has begun slaying the Asgardian Gods, in rapid succession. Ultimately Thor allows himself to be destroyed, as all known Asgardians are destroyed, Captain America ultimately decides to end his relationship with Wanda, citing that he feels that he can not give her the normal life she desires due to his own emotional issues. MJ and Peter barely escape being turned, which allows Peter to stop her but not before she bites him, however, as a side-effect, Peter now finds himself able to produce organic spider-webbing from his wrists. The Fantastic Four regroup and beat the villains, the New Avengers title replaced the Avengers title which ended with issue No.503 and Avengers Finale

24.
John Buscema
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His younger brother Sal Buscema is also a comic book artist. Buscema is best known for his run on the series The Avengers and The Silver Surfer, in addition, he pencilled at least one issue of nearly every major Marvel title, including long runs on two of the companys top magazines Fantastic Four and Thor. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2002, born in Brooklyn, New York City, John Buscema showed an interest in drawing at an early age, copying comic strips such as Popeye. He showed an interest in commercial illustrators of the period, such as N. C, wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Dean Cornwell, Coby Whitmore, Albert Dorne, and Robert Fawcett. Buscema graduated from Manhattans High School of Music and Art and he took night lessons at Pratt Institute as well as life drawing classes at the Brooklyn Museum. While training as a boxer, he began painting portraits of boxers, colan recalled that. John never seemed very happy in comics. There always seemed to be something else he wanted to do. His first recorded credit is penciling the four-page story Till Crime Do You Part in Timelys Lawbreakers Always Lose #3. He contributed to the dramatic series True Adventures and Man Comics, as well as to Cowboy Romances, Two-Gun Western, Lorna the Jungle Queen. Buscema next produced a series of Western, war, and sword, Buscema recalled, I did a bunch of their movie books. I worked from stills on those, except for The Vikings. I think one of the best books I ever did was Sinbad the Sailor. He began a position for the New York City advertising firm the Chaite Agency. Buscema called this time quite a period for me in my own development of techniques. He returned to comic books in 1966 as a regular freelance penciller for Marvel Comics, debuting over Jack Kirby layouts on the Nick Fury, Story in Strange Tales #150, followed by three Hulk stories in Tales to Astonish #85-87. He then settled in as regular penciller of The Avengers, which would one of his signature series. Avengers #49-50, featuring Hercules and inked by Buscema, are two of his best-looking of that period, said comics historian and one-time Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas, Thomas and Buscema introduced new versions of the Black Knight and the Vision during their collaboration on The Avengers. The process brought Buscemas art to life in a way that it had never been before, anatomically balanced figures of Herculean proportions stalked, stormed, sprawled, and savaged their way across Marvels universe like none had previously. John Buscema named Frank Giacoia, Sal Buscema, and Tom Palmer as his favorite inkers, Buscema drew the first appearance of the Prowler in The Amazing Spider-Man #78

25.
Cresskill, New Jersey
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Cresskill is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. This town got its name from Cress, referring to the watercress which grew in its streams, Cresskill was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 8,1894, from portions of Palisades Township. The borough was formed during the Boroughitis phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, a portion of the borough was annexed by Alpine in 1904. Railroads provided access from Cresskill to customers in New York City, railroad access helped make Cresskill the home of Camp Merritt, the major debarkation point for more than a million American troops being sent abroad to fight in World War I. The borough borders Alpine, Bergenfield, Demarest, Dumont and Tenafly, as of the census of 2010, there were 8,573 people,3,002 households, and 2,318 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,154.5 per square mile, there were 3,114 housing units at an average density of 1,509.0 per square mile. [[Hispanic |Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6. 26% of the population, korean Americans accounted for 17. 8% of the population. 21. 1% of all households were made up of individuals, the average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.32. Same-sex couples headed 7 households in 2010, an increase from the 5 counted in 2000. In the borough, the population was out with 26. 8% under the age of 18,5. 4% from 18 to 24,20. 6% from 25 to 44,29. 8% from 45 to 64. The median age was 43.7 years, for every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 85.7 males, the Census Bureaus 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $105,625 and the median family income was $128,382. Males had an income of $95,795 versus $72,188 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $56,485, about 2. 4% of families and 4. 0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1. 8% of those under age 18 and 9. 4% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2000 United States Census there were 7,746 people,2,630 households, the population density was 3,625.9 people per square mile. There were 2,702 housing units at a density of 1,264.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 78. 05% White,0. 92% African American,0. 04% Native American,18. 64% Asian,0. 65% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 99% of the population. 15. 9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.26

26.
Porcupine (comics)
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Porcupine is the name used by three fictional characters in Marvel Comics. The first Porcupine first appeared in Tales to Astonish #48, and was created by Stan Lee, the second Porcupine first appeared in Daughters of the Dragon #3 and was created by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Khari Evans. Alexander Gentry was originally a scientist who worked as a designer for the United States Army. He conceived the idea of designing a battle-suit in imitation of a porcupine, moreover, it would be able to shoot its quills, or gases, flames, chemicals, paralysis-inducing pellets, or weapons from quill-like tubes, at an opponent. Gentry spends months working overtime to create his porcupine battle-suit and he is proud of his achievement when the suit was finished, and believes his invention is worth a fortune. Yet Gentry also believes that the government would pay him, one of its employees, angrily, Gentry decides to keep the porcupine battle-suit and to use it to become wealthy through crime. Thus Gentry became the Porcupine, one of the first costumed professional criminals of his generation, hank Pym, who was then the original Ant-Man, and his partner, Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, soon defeat the Porcupine while he attempted to rob a bank. However, the Porcupine succeeds in escaping, after Pym had also assumed the superhuman powers and identity of Giant-Man, Porcupine returns for revenge. During the resulting battle, the Porcupine consumes what he thinks is a Giant-Man growth medium, among Nefarias agents are the original Eel, the Plantman, the Unicorn, and the Scarecrow, with all of whom the Porcupine would ally himself in the future as well. The Porcupine and the other costumed agents aid Count Nefaria in his attempt to hold much of Washington D. C. for ransom, however, the original X-Men thwarted Nefaria and his agents. Once again, the Porcupine succeeds in escaping being taken prisoner, and he blames the failure of the scheme on Nefaria. Gentry comes to suspect that in fact, he himself was inadequate for the role of being a super-villain battling superhuman opponents and it is not known what the Porcupine did between the end of this venture and his enlistment as a member of Batrocs Brigade. As a Brigade member, the Porcupine unsuccessfully battles Captain America, once again, the Porcupine clashed with Captain America but is defeated. Convinced that they were failures, Gentry and Leopold Stryke, who was the original Eel, seek guidance from the Celestial Mind Control movement, Nebulon pits the Porcupine and the Eel against his foes, the costumed adventurers called the Defenders, who defeat them both. The Porcupine was then employed by the android Zodiac to participate in a crime spree, Porcupine was then employed by Justin Hammer to battle Iron Man. Later, the Porcupine and a group of confederates invade a major Manhattan hotel to steal the valuables in its safe. This time the Porcupine errs by deciding to rob the wealthy attendees at a show in one of the hotels ballrooms. Unfortunately for him, the show as being given by fashion designer Janet van Dyne, moreover, Henry Pym, who now uses the costumed identity of Yellowjacket, is also present, as is Kyle Richmond, the adventurer called Nighthawk

27.
Egghead (Marvel Comics)
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Egghead is the name of two fictional villains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original first appeared in Tales to Astonish #38 and was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, the second first appeared in Dark Reign, Young Avengers #1 and was created by Paul Cornell and Mark Brooks. Elihas Starr was born in Queens, New York, a gifted government research atomic scientist with an egg-shaped head, Starr was dismissed for espionage and resolved to use his intellect as a criminal mastermind. He was dealt an initial defeat by Ant-Man when he created a device to communicate with ants. Ant-Man tricked him into thinking the ants had betrayed him before revealing that the ants were his friends, Egghead later captured the Wasp to try luring Hank into a trap involving several creatures, including an iguana and an anteater, but this failed. Egghead divided his remaining years between attempted world conquest and seeking revenge on Pym, often hiding out in the Bowery section of Manhattan in between, Egghead allied with the Mad Thinker and the Puppet Master in a plot to use a laser satellite to blackmail the United States government. Egghead later kidnapped his niece, Trish Starr, in order to test a device allowed him to steal other peoples intelligence. He would later cause her car to explode, causing her to lose an arm and he then formed the Emissaries of Evil in an attempt to gain possession of the mystic artifact the Eye of Capistan. This team consisted of the Rhino, Cobalt Man, and Solarr, Egghead and the Emissaries battled the Defenders. Egghead also fought Spider-Man on different occasions, Egghead was obsessed with Hank Pym, and engineered his disgrace. Egghead approached Pym, who was operating as Yellowjacket at the time, after the arm was installed, Egghead informed Pym that the arm contained a bomb that would be detonated unless Pym complied with Eggheads commands. Egghead had Pym attempt to rob a national treasury of adamantium, with Pym apparently out of the way, Egghead then formed the third Masters of Evil as part of a plot against the Avengers. Egghead then sent his Masters of Evil to kidnap Pym from his trial, the attempt was successful, and Egghead instructed Pym to construct an anti-aging device. Subsequently, Pym goaded Egghead into letting him test the machine himself, however, the device turned out to be a weapon system, and he single-handedly defeated the assembled Masters. The Avengers arrived too late to be of assistance, but Hawkeye arrived at the laboratory in time to see the defeated Egghead about to shoot Hank in the out of spite with his energy blaster. Hawkeye shot an arrow into Eggheads gun barrel, the gun misfired, causing an accidental explosion of the energy pistol which killed Egghead, ironically and inadvertently avenging the death of Hawkeyes brother by Eggheads hands years ago. Arnim Zola later created a proto-husk of Egghead as part of his Corpse Corp, deadpool fought and killed the Egghead proto-husk who then had a small bird pop out of his skull. In Fall of the Hulks, Alpha, a flashback showed that Egghead was a member of Intelligencia, Egghead later turns up alive where he was behind the A. I. Vengers that he had computer technician Raz Malhotra activate upon placing a neural override on him

28.
Whirlwind (comics)
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Whirlwind is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales To Astonish #50 and was created by Stan Lee, born in Kansas City, Missouri, David Cannon is a mutant that could move at great speeds. After discovering his powers at an age, he turns to a life of crime. This eventually brings Cannon, using his first alias the Human Top and pursuing his career as a thief, into conflict with Giant-Man. Defeated each time, Cannon then redesigns his costume and adopts the alias of Whirlwind, Whirlwind joined the supervillain group the second Masters of Evil, and participated in a plot to destroy the Avengers. He joined the third Masters of Evil, and participated in a Vermont battle against the Avengers, with Batroc and Porcupine, he went on a mission for the Red Skull. Cannon continues with the Charles Matthews identity, first with the intent of robbing van Dyne, in the role of Charles, he pines for Janet, making advances when Hank Pym is presumed to be dead during his run in Marvel Feature. Charles is later fired for trying to embezzle Janets money, and Hank finally discovers that Charles is Whirlwind later on in the series, Whirlwind is then employed by master villain Count Nefaria and joined the Lethal Legion. Nefaria temporarily amplifies the abilities of Whirlwind and super-powered team-mates Power Man, the effect, however, is temporary and their combined abilities are drained by Nefaria subsequently defeated by the Avengers. Whirlwind joined the third Masters of Evil in a plan to destroy the Avengers, Whirlwind later upgrades his costume when joining a new version of the Masters of Evil formed by Baron Zemo. Whirlwind partnered with the Trapster, obtained a new armor and weapons from the Tinkerer. He then partnered with the Tiger Shark, traveled to San Francisco to steal an experimental psycho-circuit, Whirlwind also shows signs of an obsession with the Wasp, as he forces prostitutes to dress in Wasps past costumes and then assaults them. Whirlwind and the Trapster end up fighting, due to a bounty placed on the former by the criminal mastermind Ricadonna. Trapster glues Whirlwind to the floor just at the start of his spin and he continues twirling, breaking many of his bones, including his spine. He makes a recovery and is forced to join Baron Zemos team of Thunderbolts. In Dark Reign, Zodiac, Cannon is shown as a mole for Zodiac, Whirlwind later attacks Hank blaming him for Janets death during the Secret Invasion and outraged by Pym taking the Wasp codename. He is defeated by the Avengers Academy student Striker, in a conversation between Striker and his mother, it is revealed that she hired Whirlwind to stage the attack to gain publicity for Striker. Whirlwind was recruited by the Mandarin and Zeke Stane into joining the other Iron Man villains in a plot to take down Iron Man, Whirlwind receives a new costume from Mandarin and Zeke Stane

29.
Loki (comics)
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Loki is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the brother and often the enemy of Thor. He is based on the being of the name from Norse mythology. The character first appeared historically in Venus No.6 and in modern-day in Journey into Mystery No.85, the character was created by writer Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby. Though normally portrayed as a supervillain, he is depicted as an antihero. Loki has appeared in several ongoing series, limited series and alternate reality series and he appeared in the new issues of Young Avengers in 2013. He began appearing in his solo series Loki, Agent of Asgard in 2014, the character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, clothing, toys, video games, and movies. In 2009, Loki was ranked as IGNs 8th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time, Loki made his first Marvel Comics appearance in Timely Comics publication Venus No. 6, where Loki was depicted as a member of the Olympian gods exiled to the Underworld and he convinced Jupiter to let him into Earth as Venus was allowed onto it, planning to spread hate. Venus pledged herself to him to stop his plans, but Jupiter saw her act and freed her from the pledge. He made his first official Marvel appearance in Journey into Mystery No,85, where Loki was reintroduced as Thors sworn enemy. The modern age Loki was introduced by brothers and co-writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, as one of Thors arch-nemeses, Loki has frequently made appearances in Thor-related titles like Journey into Mystery and Thor, as well as other Marvel Universe titles such as The Avengers and X-Men. As well as appearances in the Spider-Man and Defenders comic series. He was the character in two four-issue miniseries Loki in 2004 and 2010. Loki played a key role in the 2010s company-wide Siege storyline, starting with issue No.622 the ongoing series Thor reverted to the original title Journey into Mystery and shifted focus to Loki. Under the pen of Kieron Gillen, Loki is resurrected but exists in a childs body and he remained the main character from 2011-2012, his final issue as lead being No.645. Gillen, joined by penciller Jamie McKelvie, continued his Loki storyline by introducing Loki, still as Kid Loki, as a character in the second Young Avengers. 11, he manipulated Wiccan into restoring him to a teenaged form, a Loki solo series called Loki, Agent of Asgard was announced for 2014

30.
Thor (Marvel Comics)
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Thor is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series, and is a member of the superhero team the Avengers. The character has appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, clothing, toys, trading cards, video games. The character was first portrayed in action by Eric Allan Kramer in the 1988 television movie The Incredible Hulk Returns. Thor placed 14th on IGNs list of Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time in 2011, a different version of the mythological Thor had appeared previously in Venus #12-13. Lee in 2002 described Thors genesis early in the Marvel pantheon, following the creation of the Hulk and it finally came to me, Dont make him human — make him a god. I decided readers were already pretty familiar with the Greek and Roman gods and it might be fun to delve into the old Norse legends. In a 1984 interview Kirby said I did a version of Thor for D. C. in the fifties before I did him for Marvel. I created Thor at Marvel because I was forever enamored of legends, which is why I knew about Balder, Heimdall, I tried to update Thor and put him into a superhero costume, but he was still Thor. And in a 1992 interview, Kirby said knew the Thor legends very well, I felt that might be a new thing for comics, taking the old legends and modernizing them. Subsequent stories of the 13-page feature The Mighty Thor continued to be plotted by Lee, various artists penciled the feature, including Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Don Heck, and Al Hartley. With Journey into Mystery #101, the series began a long and definitive run by writer and co-plotter Lee, Lee and Kirby included Thor in The Avengers #1 as a founding member of the superhero team. The character has appeared in every subsequent volume of the series. The five-page featurette Tales of Asgard was added in Journey into Mystery #97, the feature itself expanded to 18 pages in #105, which eliminated the remaining anthological story from each issue, it was reduced to 16 pages five issues later. Comics historian Les Daniels noted that the adventures of Thor were gradually transformed from stories about a superhero into a spectacular saga. Artist Chic Stone, who inked several early Thor stories, observed that Kirby could just lead you through all these different worlds, the readers would follow him anywhere. Journey into Mystery was retitled Thor with issue #126, Tales of Asgard was replaced by a five-page featurette starring the Inhumans from #146–152, after which featurettes were dropped and the Thor stories expanded to Marvels then-standard 20-page length. Marvel filed for a trademark for The Mighty Thor in 1967, after Kirby left the title, Neal Adams penciled issues #180-181

31.
Count Nefaria
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Count Nefaria is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of Madame Masque, the character first appears in The Avengers #13 and was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Luchino Nefaria is a wealthy Italian aristocrat and traditionalist that also desires greater wealth and power, after he releases them, the Avengers become suspicious of him after hearing they are wanted and they cannot remember what happened at the castle. They go to the castle, however all of them are paralyzed by Nefarias gas. Meanwhile, the Teen Brigade were captured by Nefaria, and when tried to contact the Avengers were thrown in a dungeon which would place them into suspended animation if they touched the walls. Captain America gets into the castle without touching the ground, other Avengers, or walls, and freed the Teen Brigade, who gave the antidote to the Avengers. Captain America was also paralyzed, and with his hands and feet attached to ropes he was suspended between floor and ceiling, where Nefaria mocked him, saying he would be a hero for capturing him, however, Iron Man then burst through the wall. Neferia was defeated and deported after an officer heard him confess to being in the Maggia, in retaliation, Nefaria then unsuccessfully attempts to destroy Iron Man, and then suffers yet another defeat when stopped by the mutant X-Men team. Nefaria reappears several years later and attempts to control of the United States base NORAD. Nefaria attempts to escape in a plane which is attacked by the X-Man Thunderbird, the plane then explodes, killing Thunderbird and injuring Nefaria. Now virtually destitute and discredited, Nefaria hires the supervillains Living Laser, Power Man, the group rob several banks, and unwittingly finance an experiment Nefaria has created in a bid to become superhuman. The effect, however, is temporary and once defeated their combined abilities are drained by Nefaria, after a long and protracted battle, Nefaria is finally defeated. Nefaria is then kept in isolation and under observation by the Avengers, whitney Frost, also known as Madame Masque and the daughter of Nefaria, attempts to find a cure for what is believed to be his deteriorating condition. She hires the Ani-Men to attack Avengers Mansion and free her father, while battling Iron Man, Nefarias life-support system is severed and his weakened form is crushed by a stored Jupiter Landing Vehicle. Nefaria briefly reappears some time later as a corpse reanimated by the Grim Reaper, Grim Reaper directs Nefaria to attack the Avengers, but loses control soon afterwards and Nefaria dies once again. Nefaria eventually reappears, but in a humanoid form. He battles Iron Man and later Captain America and Ka-Zar in the Savage Land as he attempts to find sources of energy and he is next seen as an inmate of The Raft, a prison for supervillains, and escapes when Electro stages a mass breakout. Following the Siege storyline, Madame Masque sought out her father to help the Hood after Loki took back the Norn Stones, the New Avengers capture John King and use him to track the Hood and Madame Masque

32.
Lady Liberators
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The Lady Liberators, also called the Liberators, are members of a fictional superhero team that appeared in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original teams only appearance was in The Avengers #83, written by Roy Thomas, the Lady Liberators were created in 1970 as a single-issue joke in The Avengers. Feminism was strong at the time, but the creators and audiences of the book industry was still overwhelmingly male. The Lady Liberators were a group of female Avengers mind-controlled by the Enchantress, the original team consisted of the Wasp, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Madame Medusa, and were led by Valkyrie. A profile of the Lady Liberators at Marvel Appendix

33.
Spider-Man
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Spider-Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko, when Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the protagonist. Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several book series, the first. In the 2010s, he joins the Avengers, Marvels flagship superhero team, Spider-Mans nemesis Doctor Octopus also took on the identity for a story arc spanning 2012–2014, following a body swap plot in which Peter appears to die. Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes, the character was first portrayed in live action by Nicholas Hammond in the 1977 television movie Spider-Man. Reeve Carney starred as Spider-Man in the 2010 Broadway musical Spider-Man, in 1962, with the success of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics editor and head writer Stan Lee was casting about for a new superhero idea. He said the idea for Spider-Man arose from a surge in demand for comic books. At that time Lee had to get only the consent of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman for the characters approval, in a 1986 interview, Lee described in detail his arguments to overcome Goodmans objections. In particular, Lee stated that the fact that it had already decided that Amazing Fantasy would be cancelled after issue #15 was the only reason Goodman allowed him to use Spider-Man. While this was indeed the issue, its editorial page anticipated the comic continuing. Will appear every month in Amazing, regardless, Lee received Goodmans approval for the name Spider-Man and the ordinary teen concept, and approached artist Jack Kirby. Lee and Kirby immediately sat down for a conference, Theakston writes. Steve Ditko would be the inker, when Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, Lee recalled, I hated the way he was doing it. Not that he did it badly—it just wasnt the character I wanted, Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual style Lee found satisfactory. Ditko recalled, One of the first things I did was to work up a costume, a vital, visual part of the character. I had to know how he looked, for example, A clinging power so he wouldnt have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. I wasnt sure Stan would like the idea of covering the characters face and it would also add mystery to the character. Although the interior artwork was by Ditko alone, Lee rejected Ditkos cover art, as Lee explained in 2010, I think I had Jack sketch out a cover for it because I always had a lot of confidence in Jacks covers

34.
Ultron
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Ultron is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is most recognized as a foe of the Avengers, and has a relationship with several of their members. He was the first Marvel Comics character to wield the fictitious metal alloy adamantium, Ultron has appeared in several media adaptations, including animated television series, an animated film, and video games. The character is portrayed by actor James Spader in the 2015 film Avengers, the character initially appeared as an unnamed character in a cameo in The Avengers #54, with a first full appearance in Avengers #55. Ultron was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, Thomas, who has acknowledged he finds naming characters difficult, said he liked the -tron suffix and went from there. Thomas said the idea of the character and his appearance were heavily based on Makino and he liked the robots malicious looking smile, and showed it to Buscema. The character leads the Masters of Evil against the Avengers, having hypnotized Edwin Jarvis into working for him, in the following issue, Avengers #55, the character is identified as Ultron-5, The Living Automaton. In Avengers 57–58, a flashback revealed that Ultron is the creator of the synthezoid Vision as a weapon to destroy the Avengers. The Vision—having Wonder Mans brain patterns—destroys Ultron with the aid of the Avengers, further flashbacks reveal that Ultron is the creation of Hank Pym, and is based on his makers brain patterns. Rebuilding itself, learning how to turn itself on, and upgrading five times and its plans to destroy humanity are again thwarted by the Avengers. The character next appears in Avengers #161–162 as Ultron-8 where it is responsible for the creation of Jocasta as a robotic bride, shortly afterwards, in Avengers #170–171, the Avengers, with the aid of Ms. Marvel battle and defeat Ultron-8. His next appearances are in Avengers #201–202 as Ultron-9 and in Marvel Two-In-One #92–93 as Ultron-10, after being briefly recreated by the Beyonder and appearing on Battleworld during the Secret Wars, and for a brief encounter with the Thing, Ultron is destroyed again. The Thing, however, does bring Ultrons head back to Earth as a souvenir, the head of Ultron-11 is dropped and forgotten by the Thing when there is an attack by the alien Dire Wraiths. A new Ultron enters into an alliance with the villain the Grim Reaper, although the villains are defeated by the West Coast Avengers, Ultron-12 begins to form a relationship with his father Henry Pym. Ultron-12 begins calling itself Ultron Mark 12, in an effort to more human. Rebuilding itself, Ultron-11 comes into conflict with Hank and Ultron-12, with the assistance of Wonder Man, they destroy Ultron-11. Ultron-12 then deactivates, but tells Pym it was glad it could save him. Doctor Doom rebuilds Ultron using a combination of all of Ultrons previous personalities with a strong dose of Ultron-12

35.
Jocasta (comics)
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Jocasta is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A member of the Avengers, the character is a created by the villain Ultron. Jocasta first appears in The Avengers #162 and was created by Jim Shooter, Jocasta was built by the robot Ultron in an abandoned aerospace research center in Nassau, Long Island, New York, in order that he might have a mate. To better allow this robot sentience, Ultron based her mind, to animate his bride, Ultron also brainwashed Hank Pym into transferring the Wasps lifeforce into the feminine robotic shell. Ultron named her after the wife/mother in the legend of Oedipus, however, realizing that the Wasp would have to die in order for her to live, Jocasta alerted the Avengers, and the team defeated Ultron and reversed the process, leaving Jocasta a mindless husk. Henry Pym retained custody of the inanimate Jocasta, intending to study her, upon the urging of the Wasp, Pym had her moved from their residence to the Avengers Mansion. There, Ultron revived Jocasta with a link, activating the mental residue the Wasp left behind. She escaped from Avengers custody, and led the Avengers into Ultrons trap, Jocasta was programmed to be loyal to Ultron and even though she loved him intensely, she could not abide by his evil. Jocasta eventually betrayed him, choosing to help the Avengers defeat him again and she was then abducted by the Collector. Freed from the Collector by the Avengers, she aided the Avengers against Korvac, Jocasta resided at Avengers Mansion for a time. Due to their backgrounds, she developed feelings for the Vision. Jocasta was granted provisional status with the team, during this period, she aided them against threats such as the giant robot Red Ronin, the Yellow Claw, the Berserker, Pyron, and the second incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants. At one point, she was deactivated by Iron Man under control by Ultron. Jocasta did not believe she was accepted by most of the team, after she singlehandedly defeated a rogue sentient weather satellite, she left the Avengers following a membership reorganization. She was unaware that they had planned to grant her special substitute member status, wandering the country, Jocasta discovered that her cybernetic senses and powers were malfunctioning. She sought help from the Fantastic Four and was befriended by them, soon, it became apparent that her malfunctioning powers were the symptoms of a pre-programmed suggestion which compelled Jocasta to rebuild Ultron. She did, but soon teamed up with Fantastic Four member Thing, during this time, Jocasta and Machine Man developed feelings for each other. However, in a confrontation with Ultron, Jocasta intentionally detonated a weapon Ultron was holding, knowing she would be caught in the resulting blast

36.
Black Panther (comics)
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The Black Panther is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character is usually depicted as the king and protector of Wakanda, a fictional African nation. Chadwick Boseman portrays the Black Panther in Captain America, Civil War and is set to return in Black Panther and he is the first black superhero in mainstream comic books, virtually no black heroes were created before him, and none with actual superpowers. Previous non-caricatured black supporting characters in comics include U. S. Army infantry private Gabriel Jones of Sgt, co-creator Stan Lee recounted that the name was inspired by a pulp adventure hero who has a black panther as a helper. Jack Kirbys original concept art for Black Panther used the concept name, during his time with the Avengers, he made solo guest-appearances in three issues of Daredevil, and fought Doctor Doom in Astonishing Tales #6–7, in that supervillains short-lived starring feature. He received his first starring feature with Jungle Action #5, a reprint of the Panther-centric story in The Avengers #62, the critically acclaimed series ran in Jungle Action #6–24. One now-common format McGregor pioneered was that of the self-contained, multi-issue story arc, the first, Panthers Rage, ran through the first 13 issues. Critic Jason Sacks has called the arc Marvels first graphic novel, here were real character arcs in Spider-Man, Panthers Rage is the first comic that was created from start to finish as a complete novel. The second and final arc, Panther vs. the Klan, ran as mostly 17-page stories in Jungle Action #19–24, except for issue #23, a reprint of Daredevil #69, in which the Black Panther guest-starred. The subject matter of the Ku Klux Klan was considered controversial in the Marvel offices at the time, if you can get your hands on it. Sit down and read the whole thing and its damn-near flawless, every issue, every scene, a functional, necessary part of the whole. Okay, now go back and read any individual issue, thats what we should all be delivering, every single month. Don and company did it in only 17 story pages per issue, however, Kirby wanted to work on new characters and was unhappy at being assigned a series starring a character he had already worked with extensively. He left the series after only 12 issues and was replaced by Ed Hannigan, Jerry Bingham, due to the seriess cancellation, the contents of what would have been Black Panther #16–18 were published in Marvel Premiere #51–53. A four-issue miniseries, Black Panther vol,2, was written by Peter B. Gillis and penciled by Denys Cowan, McGregor revisited his Panther saga with Gene Colan in Panthers Quest, published as 25 eight-page installments within the bi-weekly anthology series Marvel Comics Presents. He later teamed with artist Dwayne Turner in the square-bound miniseries Black Panther, McGregor conceived a fifth arc in his Black Panther saga, titled Panthers Vows, but it failed to get off the ground. Writer Christopher Priests and penciller Mark Texeiras 1998 series The Black Panther vol, the Priest-Texeira series was under the Marvel Knights imprint in its first year

37.
She-Hulk
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She-Hulk is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in Savage She-Hulk #1. A cousin to Dr. Bruce Banner, Walters once received a blood transfusion from him when she was wounded. In later issues, her transformation is permanent, She-Hulk has been a member of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, the Defenders, Fantastic Force, and S. H. I. E. L. D. A highly skilled lawyer, she has served as counsel to various superheroes on numerous occasions. She-Hulk was created by Stan Lee, who wrote only the first issue, the reason behind the characters creation had to do with the success of The Incredible Hulk and The Bionic Woman TV series. All but the first issue of The Savage She-Hulk were written by David Anthony Kraft and penciled by Mike Vosburg, and most issues were inked by Frank Springer. Vosburg later remarked, The oddest thing about that book was that Frank drew really beautiful women, I drew really beautiful women, and yet, the Savage She-Hulk series lasted until 1982 where it ended with #25. She-Hulk then made guest appearances in other characters books and her earliest guest-starring adventures followed no specific story line, besides her recurring bad luck with automobiles. She-Hulk also appeared in the series, Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions. She-Hulk becomes a member of the Avengers in Avengers #221 and her early Avengers appearances continued the running gag about her car troubles. She-Hulk also made occasional guest appearances in The Incredible Hulk and her appearance in Avengers #233 was drawn by John Byrne, who would later become strongly associated with the character. At the conclusion of the first Secret Wars miniseries, She-Hulk joins the Fantastic Four, all three graphic novels appeared in 1985. The last, #18, appearing in November 1985, was written, She-Hulk regained a solo series in 1989, The Sensational She-Hulk. The Sensational She-Hulk ran for sixty issues, issues #1 to #8 and #31 to #50 were written and drawn by Byrne. Byrnes She-Hulk stories satirized comic books and introduced She-Hulks awareness that she is a book character. Other writers to contribute to this series include Steve Gerber, Simon Furman, during Sensational She-Hulk, the character continued making numerous guest appearances. In 1990, She-Hulk appeared in the limited series She-Hulk

38.
Monica Rambeau
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Monica Rambeau is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Initially known as Captain Marvel, the became a leader of the Avengers. She later used the codenames Photon, Pulsar, and, beginning in 2013, the character was created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita, Jr. She first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16, talking about the visual features of the character, Romita noted that originally the character was intended to look like Pam Grier but. It was fine, because by the time she got done by artists, it ended up looking like the generic black character. After her debut, the character appeared sporadically in The Avengers #227-347 and she received a one-shot title, Captain Marvel vol. She also starred in Avengers, Unplugged #5 and she returned in The Avengers vol.3 with sporadic appearances between issues #1-59. During this run, she appeared in Avengers, Infinity #1-4, Maximum Security #2-3, Thor vol.2 #30. In 2009, Rambeau appeared in the series, Marvel Divas. She was one of the characters, alongside Black Cat, Hellcat. After a cameo in Great Lakes Avengers #1 and New Thunderbolts #8-9, following the cancellation of that series, Rambeau was seen briefly in Civil War, She-Hulk, and as a main character in Marvel Divas #1-4 and Heralds #1-5. She appears Iron Age #1, Captain Marvel #7-8, Journey into Mystery #649, starting in September 2013, she began appearing as one of the lead characters in the Marvel NOW. relaunch of Mighty Avengers, acting as the teams field leader under the new codename Spectrum. Monica Rambeau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Frank and she was a lieutenant in the New Orleans harbor patrol, and operated as a cargo ship captain. Trying to prevent the creation of a weapon, Rambeau is exposed to extra-dimensional energy. As a result, she is able to convert her body to energy and she decides to use her powers to fight crime and named herself as Captain Marvel. Rambeau sought out the Avengers for help in mastering her new powers and became a member-in-training of their group, befriended and mentored by Avengers veterans Captain America and the Wasp, Captain Marvel soon graduated to full membership after the battle against Plantman. She was the first African-American heroine of the team and she assisted Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch in battling Dracula. Two of Rambeaus enemies were super-powered psychiatrist Moonstone, and Moonstones powerful pawn Blackout, Captain Marvel first encounters them when the Avengers oppose the duos escape from incarceration in Project, PEGASUS

39.
Paladin (comics)
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Paladin is a fictional character, a mercenary appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. While he claims that Paladin is his name, he often goes by the name Paul Denning. Though not a supervillain, his activities often bring him into conflict with superheroes. Paladin first appeared in Daredevil #150, the character had a one-shot story published in Marvel Premiere #43, and was a billed guest star in the Spider-Man team-up title Marvel Team-Up #108. Paladin is a mercenary and private investigator, whose past is largely unrevealed, when first seen, he sought Daredevil while engaged in an assignment to track down the Purple Man, and battled Daredevil. He clashed with Daredevil a second time after the crime fighter inadvertently interfered with Paladins search for the Purple Man, Paladin allied with Daredevil in battle against the Cobra, the Jester, and Mister Hyde, who were under control of the Purple Man. Paladin aided the Wasp against Baron Brimstone, acquired a modified uniform, Paladin aided the Avengers in battle against the Masters of Evil IV. Paladin also considers Spider-Mans incessant battle banter unprofessional, Paladin was later employed by Silver Sable to investigate a conspiracy which threatened her native country of Symkaria, and he allied with Spider-Man. Paladin was then hired by Diamondback to raid Serpent Society headquarters and he was captured, but freed by Captain America. Paladin accompanied Captain America in his search for Diamondback, the Asp, with his new allies, Paladin battled Superias horde of female superhumans. An unabashed womanizer, Paladin will often flirt with any woman who catches his eye and he briefly dated the Wasp at a time when she was separated from Hank Pym, much to the Black Knights jealousy, who was also attracted to her. For a time, he also enlisted Generation X into helping him retrieve a sword for Adrienne Frost, during this period, the mutant known as Jubilee was strongly attracted to Paladin, but that affection disappeared when Generation X and Paladin later went their separate ways. He has also been an ally to Silver Sable and her Wild Pack organization, working for pay. He once helped them protect a scientist from an attempt by the Heroes for Hire. His main opponent was Misty Knight, who seemed to be an equal match, Paladin has a certain amount of honor. For example, he was hired by a corrupt government to assist rebels as part of a sting operation. He aided the rebels in an operation at a government facility. When the rebels were caught, his government handler remarked how lucky they were that the bomb had not gone off, Paladin replied, Im sorry, that would have been extra, and activated the bomb by remote control while driving away

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Vision (Marvel Comics)
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Vision is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first iteration was a created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #13. The second iteration is an android and a member of the Avengers who first appeared in The Avengers #57 by Roy Thomas, Stan Lee, the third Vision is a time traveler that fused with the second versions operating system. The character is portrayed by Paul Bettany in the 2015 film Avengers, Age of Ultron, the first Vision was created by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Marvel Mystery Comics #13. Decades later, editor Stan Lee and writer Roy Thomas decided to add a new member to the superhero-team series The Avengers. Thomas wanted to bring back the Golden Age Vision, but Lee was set on introducing an android member, Thomas ultimately compromised by using a new, android Vision. The second Vision first appeared in The Avengers #57, Thomas wanted the character to be white as befitting his ghostly name, but printing limitations of the time would have rendered him colorless, with un-inked paper where his skin should be. He settled on red as he did not want Vision to be green like the Hulk or blue like the Atlanteans, the character has been compared with Spock from Star Trek, but Thomas said that he was barely aware of the TV series at the time. He acknowledged being influenced by the Adam Link character by Otto Binder, in The Avengers #75, the Scarlet Witch is reintroduced to the team and soon becomes a love interest for the Vision. So they became a pair, for just such practical considerations and it was finally followed up in The Avengers #134–135. Writer Steve Englehart explained, That plot was well known in-house for years, and since Roy and Neal hadnt had a chance to do it, I did it on my watch with Roy’s blessing. In 1972 the Vision appeared with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #5, A Passion of the Mind, the Vision and Scarlet Witch were married in Giant-Size Avengers #4. The couple starred in the limited series Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1–4, by writer Bill Mantlo, the Vision Quest story in West Coast Avengers #42–45 by writer/penciller John Byrne took the character away from his earlier depictions as a synthetic human and emphasized his android nature. Journalist Karen Walker later commented, This image alone has probably more to shape how future writers perceive the character than anything before or since. Once seen broken down into component parts, it’s hard to move past that image and think of the Vision as a synthetic man. The Vision appeared in a limited series, Vision, #1–4, by writer Bob Harras. Nearly a decade after that came a second volume, written by Geoff Johns. Vision appeared as a character in the 2010–2013 Avengers series

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Beyonder
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The Beyonder is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He later appeared in an antagonistic role in the 1985 sequel Secret Wars II, in which he took human form. Although the character met his demise at the end of Secret Wars II, he has appeared in stories well into the 2000s. Created by writer Jim Shooter, and artist Mike Zeck, the Beyonder first appeared in Secret Wars #1, as an unseen and he reappears in Secret Wars II #1, which was written by Jim Shooter and drawn by Al Milgrom. The Beyonder is the sum total of an entire multiverse called the Beyond-Realm or simply Beyond and this dimension was originally believed to be accidentally accessed by lab technician Owen Reece. The remaining energy of the pocket dimension gains sentience and curiosity, during this time, his powers were once stolen by Doctor Doom. He creates a body for himself. He also transforms a television writer named Steward Cadwell into Thundersword, finally, the Beyonder creates a form for himself based on that of Captain America after witnessing him defeat Armadillo. Beyonder later met the blind superhero Daredevil and restored his ability to see, after realizing that the desire to protect his eyesight might compromise his integrity and dedication, Daredevil demanded that the Beyonder take his sight away again, which he did. While waiting for the Legion Accursed to arrive, Mephisto tricked Thing into signing a contract that would increase his strength, when the Legion Accursed had arrived, Thing ended up defending Beyonder from them. By the time Mephisto planned to drop his contract with Thing, due to Beyonder and Thing ruining his plan, Mephisto returned all the villains to where they were before he began his scheme. Long after the Secret Wars II crossover had ended, a Deadpool special featured the Secret Wars II continues in this issue corner tag that was used during that original storyline, in this issue, a younger, less-experienced Deadpool is hired by the Kingpin to kill the Beyonder. The flashback sequence ends with Deadpool chasing him into a portal with a saying to be continued in Secret Wars III. The Beyonder then merges with the Molecule Man and this being, called Kosmos, expels the Molecule Man from its form, and returns him to Earth. Kosmos takes on a form and is tutored by Kubik. When the Molecule Mans lover, Volcana, leaves him, Owen Reece gets angry, extracts the Beyonder from Kosmos, at some unknown point, Kosmos goes mad and assumes a mortal form, now calling itself the Maker. After the now amnesiac Maker destroys a Shiar colony, the Imperial Guard manage to imprison it in the prison called the Kyln. The Makers madness takes control of inmates, but is finally subdued by Thanos

42.
Magneto (comics)
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Magneto is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appears in The X-Men #1 as the archenemy of the X-Men. The character is a mutant, one of a fictional subspecies of humanity born with superhuman abilities. He is a friend of Professor X, the leader of the X-Men, Magnetos role in comics has varied from supervillain to antihero to superhero, having served as an occasional ally and even a member of the X-Men at times. His characters early history has been compared with the civil rights leader Malcolm X, Magneto resents the pacifist attitude of Professor X and pushes for a more aggressive approach to achieving civil rights. In 2011, IGN ranked Magneto as the greatest comic book villain of all time, sir Ian McKellen portrayed Magneto in four films of the X-Men film series, while Michael Fassbender portrayed a younger version of the character in the 2011 prequel X-Men, First Class. In addition, both actors reprised the role in the film X-Men, Days of Future Past, set in two different eras, Fassbender reprised his role in the 2016 film X-Men, Apocalypse. Magneto first appeared in the issue of X-Men in 1963. In a 2008 interview, Stan Lee said he did not think of Magneto as a bad guy and he just wanted to strike back at the people who were so bigoted and racist. He was trying to defend the mutants, and because society was not treating them fairly he was going to teach society a lesson and he was a danger of course. But I never thought of him as a villain, in the miniseries, Magneto had been de-aged and suffered from amnesia, calling himself Joseph, it was later revealed that Joseph was a younger clone of Magneto. Later, Magneto became ruler of the nation Genosha, later, Magneto appeared in two miniseries, Magneto Rex and Magneto, Dark Seduction. A trade paperback novel detailing Magnetos childhood, X-Men, Magneto Testament was written by Greg Pak, Pak based Magneto Testament on accounts from Holocaust survivors. Before the publication of X-Men, Magneto Testament, Magnetos personal background and he was portrayed as a Jewish Holocaust survivor, while searching for his wife Magda, a Sinti, Magneto maintained a cover identity as a Sinti. This created confusion among readers as to Magnetos heritage, until his Jewish background was confirmed in Magneto. Magneto was born Max Eisenhardt sometime in the late 1920s to a middle-class German-Jewish family, maxs father, Jakob Eisenhardt, was a decorated World War I veteran. Max and his family escaped the ghetto, only to be betrayed and captured again and his mother, father, and sister were executed and buried in a mass grave, but Max survived, possibly due to the manifestation of his mutant powers. Escaping from the grave, he was ultimately captured yet again and sent to Auschwitz

43.
Mary MacPherran
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Titania, is a supervillainess appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is notable for being one of Marvels strongest human female characters, MacPherran is the second Marvel supervillainess to use the name. The first Titania was a wrestler and member of The Grapplers who was murdered by the Scourge of the Underworld. Upon DaVitos resurrection, her powers were expanded and she took the name Lascivious, Titania was introduced in Secret Wars #3, and has appeared in many Marvel comics since then. Mary MacPherran is the name of a real-life Marvel production assistant who was asked by Jim Shooter if it was permissible to name a character after her. In 2011, Shooter posted a photo on his blog of a group of Marvel staffers, with a caption identifying the real MacPherran. In a comment, Shooter said of MacPherran, Wonderful, gentle, sweet Mary Mac was indeed a smidgen of the basis for Titania, if MM minded that I had a tough bad-girl inspired by her, and made the nod in her direction, she never mentioned it. And wicked-smart Volcana had a bit of Mary Jo Duffy at her core and it was a thing we did back when. Now, I suppose the creators would be sued, Titania is one of the main characters in the 2015 series Illuminati. Born prematurely in a suburb of Denver, Colorado, Mary MacPherran grew up scrawny and short-statured, inspiring a popular girl at school, Vanessa Ashwood, to nickname her Skeeter. As a high school senior, to support her struggling family, Mary works as a salesclerk alongside her only other friend. After the second Spider-Woman makes one of her appearances in their town. Mary then falsely confides to her friend that she is secretly Spider-Woman, shortly afterward, Mary is invited to a fancy party at Vanessas house, where she is surprised to find that her newfound popularity is due to Marsha spreading around the false Spider-Woman rumor. Scared and exhausted, the two girls are found by Doctor Doom, who was in need of further metahuman operatives to further his ambitions, Mary and Marsha both agree to Dooms offer of power in exchange for serving in his army of supervillains. Titanias physical changes bring a new personality to the fore, where Mary MacPherran had been small and timid, the newly named Titania, so called because of strength like a titan, is brash and seemingly confident. to a dame. Titania begins to work for Doom in earnest, and is one of the villains ordered by Doom to attack the superheroes and she battles Thor, Rogue and Wolverine. as well as the X-Men. But her most impressive conquest is Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk, yet, when the heroes later storm Doombase to rescue She-Hulk, Titania tries to face up against veteran superhero Spider-Man. The fight ends when Spider-Man beats her into the ground, then picks her up, mindful of this beating, Titania avoids coming into contact with Spider-Man while on Battleworld, and would harbor a fear of him for some time after returning to Earth

44.
Absorbing Man
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The Absorbing Man is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Journey into Mystery #114, cover dated March 1965, created by writer Stan Lee, over the years he has played a part on several Marvel Comics crossovers such as the original Secret Wars and Fear Itself. Creel was given the power to take the form of any material he touched, absorbing the property of the material itself. Over the years the power has worked both for and against him, such as being turned into water, then mixed with dirt to become mud, the Absorbing Man was given his powers by the Asgardian god Loki in a plot to defeat Lokis brother Thor. During the Secret Wars storyline Creel became romantically involved with the super villain Titania, during the Fear Itself storyline, Creel comes into possession of a divine Asgardian hammer, granting him amplified powers and turning him into Greithoth, Breaker of Wills. The Absorbing Man first appears in Journey into Mystery #114 and was created by Stan Lee, carl Crusher Creel was a boxer and jailed criminal who becomes the Absorbing Man when he drinks a liquid which the Asgardian god Loki laced with a magic potion. Discovering that he could absorb the properties of anything he touched, Creel escapes prison by absorbing metal from the guards bullets, when he escapes, he takes with him the ball and chain to which he was shackled, and uses the ball and chain as a weapon. Although he is mortal, Creels fantastic abilities make him a worthy opponent for Thor. Creel then breaks into a house and attacks the occupants, Thor comes to the rescue and tricks Creel into changing his atomic structure into pure helium. Thor accomplishes this by using his hammers powers to transform the grounds molecular makeup, as Creel is acquiring additional mass from direct contact with the Earth when this happens he ends up drifting harmlessly into the atmosphere. A short time later, Loki retrieves Creel from space using Asgardian technology after he has knocked out an Asgardian warlock, after Creel is nearly beaten due to Thors fighting skill, Loki transports him to Asgard and reveals the true source of his absorbing powers. After being humbled by Loki, Creel agrees to act as his agent, the Absorbing Man defeats the Asgardian legions without too much trouble and eventually confronts Odin himself. Creel absorbs Odins attacks and then the properties of Asgard itself, hoping to rule the Universe, Thor is ordered by Odin not to keep attacking. Loki and Creel are then beaten by trickery, once given Odins Rod of Rulership the two quarrel over it, the Absorbing Man trying to absorb the rod, and the two find they cannot let go. Odin then advises them that his power lies not in a mere object, the pair are then banished to space. The Absorbing Man eventually returns on a comet and battles the Hulk, bruce Banner had been sent to divert the comet, as it was feared it was radioactive, but the Absorbing Man leapt aboard and began absorbing the Hulks strength. He tries to bury the Hulk under a mountain, but when the Hulk turns back to human form, however, Creel goes on to battle many other heroes, such as the Avengers, Daredevil, Dazzler, the Hulk, and Spider-Man. He is one of the villains who participates in the Secret Wars, the pair also join the reformed fourth version of the Masters of Evil

Hope Pym
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Hope Pym, also known as the Red Queen, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne in the MC2 universe, created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, she first appeared in A-Next #7. After the deaths of their parents, Hope Pym and her twin brother Big Man became outraged

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Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne in the 2015 film Ant-Man.

J. G. Jones
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J. G. Jones is an American comic book artist, known for his work on titles such as Wanted and Final Crisis. Jones hails from Walker, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University, in 1999, Jones and writer Devin K. Grayson introduced the Yelena Belova character in the Black Widow limited series. The following year, Jones collaborated with write

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Jones at the 2013 Wizard World New York Experience in Manhattan.

Marvel Comics
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Marvel Comics is the common name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc. formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwides parent company, Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the ea

Tales to Astonish
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Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968 and it became The Incredible Hulk with issue #102. Its sister title was Tales of Suspense, a second Marvel comic bearing the name, reprinting stories of th

Stan Lee
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Stan Lee is an American comic-book writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor, and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. In addition, he challenged the comics industrys censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house

Jack Kirby
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Jack Kirby, born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer, and editor, widely regarded as one of the mediums major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. Kirby grew up in New York City, and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and he entered the nascent comics industry

Avengers (comics)
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The Avengers are a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, labeled Earths Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers originally consisted of Hank Pym, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and the Wasp. The ori

Uncanny Avengers
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Uncanny Avengers is an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that debuted in October 2012 with the launch of Marvel NOW. The series centers on a team composed of members of both the Avengers and X-Men that comes together following the conclusion of the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline. Within the Marvel Universe itself, the team is known

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Cover of Uncanny Avengers #1 (October 2012). Art by John Cassaday.

Hank Pym
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Dr. Henry Hank Pym is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciler Jack Kirby and he is a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers. Michael Douglas portrays the character in the 2015 Marvel Studios film Ant-Man, Hank Pym debut

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The character's alter egos (forward to back): Ant-Man, Hank Pym, Goliath, Yellowjacket and Giant-Man (not all to scale), with Ultron in the background. Not all the character's costumes are shown.

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Hank Pym debuts in his first Goliath costume in The Avengers #28 (May 1966). Cover art by Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia.

Superheroine
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A female superhero is sometimes called a superheroine. Fiction centered on characters, especially in American comic books since the 1930s, is known as superhero fiction. By most definitions, characters do not require actual supernatural or superhuman powers or phenomena to be deemed superheroes, some superheroes use their powers to counter daily cr

American comic book
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An American comic book is a thin periodical, typically 32-pages, containing primarily comics content. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics and this was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II. After the war, while superheroes were m

IGN
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The website was the brainchild of media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29,1996. It focuses on games, films, television, comics, technology, the company is located in San Franciscos SOMA district in California, United States. Originally a network of websites, IGN is now distributed on mobile platforms, console programs on the

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IGN Entertainment's former headquarters in Brisbane, California.

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IGN Entertainment Inc.

Comics Buyer's Guide
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Comics Buyers Guide, established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyers Guide Fan Awards from 1982–2008, the publication ceased with the March 2013 issue. The magazine was headquartered in Iola, Wisconsin, CBG was founded in February 1971 by Ala

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Alan Light in his first office, in his parents' basement, in 1975

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Comics Buyer's Guide #1600 (January 2005)

Ant-Man (film)
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Ant-Man is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name, Scott Lang and Hank Pym. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the twelfth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Peyton Reed, with a screenplay by Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish a

Michelle Pfeiffer
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Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress, singer and producer. She began her career in 1978 and had her first starring film role in Grease 2. Her greatest commercial successes include Batman Returns, Dangerous Minds, What Lies Beneath and she received a third Oscar nomination for Love Field. Her other notable roles include The Witches of East

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Pfeiffer in 2007

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Pfeiffer and her husband, David E. Kelley at the 47th Emmy Awards in 1994

Ernie Hart
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Ernest Huntley Hart, also known as H. E. Huntley, is an American comic-book writer and artist best known for creating Marvel Comics funny animal character Super Rabbit, in addition, he variously wrote, edited and illustrated numerous books on dog breeding and ownership. During the 1930s, Ernie Hart painted murals for the Works Progress Administrati

The Avengers (comic)
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The Avengers is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Avengers and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original The Avengers comic book series which debuted in 1963. In 1960, DC Comics launched a book series featuring a team of superheroes called the Justice League. Impressed by that books strong sales, Martin Good

Marvel Feature
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Marvel Feature was the name of two comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. The first volume led to the launch of The Defenders and Marvel Two-in-One, the first series was published for twelve issues from December 1971 until November 1973. The lead story in Marvel Feature #1, by writer Roy Thomas and artist Ross Andru, fe

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Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971) Cover art by Neal Adams.

Captain America
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Captain America is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 from Timely Comics, Captain America was designed as a patriotic supersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely

Iron Man
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Iron Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, the character made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39. He instead creates a suit of armor to save his life. Later, Stark augments his suit with weapon

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The Bleeding Edge Armor, like the Extremis Armor before it, is stored in Stark's bones, and can be assembled and controlled by his thoughts.

Fantastic Four
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The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1, which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium. As the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics, it formed a cornerstone of the companys 1960s rise from a division of a

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Fantastic Four #48 (Sept. 1966): The Watcher warns, in part one of the landmark " Galactus Trilogy ". Cover art by Kirby and Joe Sinnott.

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Promotional posters for 2005's Fantastic Four (left) and 2015's Fantastic Four (right).

West Coast Avengers
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The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in The West Coast Avengers #1, created by Roger Stern, the West Coast Avengers first appear in a four-issue limited series published from September to December 1984. The series was written by Roger Stern and dr

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The Vision and the Scarlet Witch appear on the cover of the retitled Avengers West Coast #47 (August 1989). Art by John Byrne.

Avengers Disassembled
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Avengers Disassembled is a crossover event involving the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor. Avengers Disassembled saw the beginning of Brian Michael Bendis Avengers run with the destruction of the existing traditional roster, the other crossover stories intersect or take place prior or after to the main Avengers story-l

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Promotional art for Avengers #503. Art by David Finch.

John Buscema
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His younger brother Sal Buscema is also a comic book artist. Buscema is best known for his run on the series The Avengers and The Silver Surfer, in addition, he pencilled at least one issue of nearly every major Marvel title, including long runs on two of the companys top magazines Fantastic Four and Thor. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic

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Page from the film adaptation Hercules a.k.a. Four Color #1006 (July 1959). Art by Buscema.

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The Avengers #41 (June 1967), Buscema's first issue of a signature series. Cover art by Buscema and inker George Roussos.

Cresskill, New Jersey
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Cresskill is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. This town got its name from Cress, referring to the watercress which grew in its streams, Cresskill was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 8,1894, from portions of Palisades Township. The borough was formed during the Boroughitis phenomenon the

Porcupine (comics)
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Porcupine is the name used by three fictional characters in Marvel Comics. The first Porcupine first appeared in Tales to Astonish #48, and was created by Stan Lee, the second Porcupine first appeared in Daughters of the Dragon #3 and was created by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Khari Evans. Alexander Gentry was originally a scientist who worke

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Porcupine

Egghead (Marvel Comics)
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Egghead is the name of two fictional villains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original first appeared in Tales to Astonish #38 and was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, the second first appeared in Dark Reign, Young Avengers #1 and was created by Paul Cornell and Mark Brooks. Elihas Starr was born in Queens, New Yor

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Elihas Starr the original Egghead

Whirlwind (comics)
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Whirlwind is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales To Astonish #50 and was created by Stan Lee, born in Kansas City, Missouri, David Cannon is a mutant that could move at great speeds. After discovering his powers at an age, he turns to a life of cri

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Whirlwind as he appears on the cover of Avengers #139 (Sep. 1975). Art by John Romita Snr.

Loki (comics)
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Loki is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the brother and often the enemy of Thor. He is based on the being of the name from Norse mythology. The character first appeared historically in Venus No.6 and in modern-day in Journey into Mystery No.85, the character was created by writer Stan Lee, s

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Cover art of Thor Vol 2 No. 64 (July 2003) Art by Ben Lai

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Loki in his first appearance and publication in the Venus comics (1949).

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Loki as the Scarlet Witch.

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Loki reincarnated, in Thor #617.

Thor (Marvel Comics)
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Thor is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series, and is a member of the superhero team the Avengers. The character has appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, clothing, toys, trading cards, video games. The

Count Nefaria
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Count Nefaria is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of Madame Masque, the character first appears in The Avengers #13 and was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Luchino Nefaria is a wealthy Italian aristocrat and traditionalist that also desires greater wealth and powe

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Count Nefaria battles the Avengers on the cover of Avengers #166 (Jan. 1978). Art by George Pérez and Ernie Chan.

Lady Liberators
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The Lady Liberators, also called the Liberators, are members of a fictional superhero team that appeared in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original teams only appearance was in The Avengers #83, written by Roy Thomas, the Lady Liberators were created in 1970 as a single-issue joke in The Avengers. Feminism was strong at the time, but t

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Cover to The Avengers #83. Art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer.

Spider-Man
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Spider-Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko, when Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the protagonist. Marvel has featu

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Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962). The issue that first introduced the fictional character. It was a gateway to commercial success for the superhero and inspired the launch of The Amazing Spider-Man comic book. Cover art by Jack Kirby (penciller) and Steve Ditko (inker).

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U.S. President Barack Obama pretending to be caught in Spider-Man's web

Ultron
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Ultron is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is most recognized as a foe of the Avengers, and has a relationship with several of their members. He was the first Marvel Comics character to wield the fictitious metal alloy adamantium, Ultron has appeared in several media adaptations, including an

Jocasta (comics)
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Jocasta is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A member of the Avengers, the character is a created by the villain Ultron. Jocasta first appears in The Avengers #162 and was created by Jim Shooter, Jocasta was built by the robot Ultron in an abandoned aerospace research center in Nassau, Long Island,

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Jocasta (Art by Kerry Gammill)

Black Panther (comics)
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The Black Panther is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character is usually depicted as the king and protector of Wakanda, a fictional African nation. Chadwick Boseman portrays the Black Panther in Captain America, Civil

She-Hulk
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She-Hulk is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in Savage She-Hulk #1. A cousin to Dr. Bruce Banner, Walters once received a blood transfusion from him when she was wounded. In later issues, her transformation is permanent, She-Hul

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Cover of She-Hulk vol. 2 #7, textless variant. Art by Greg Horn

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First appearance of the She-Hulk from issue #1 of her first title Savage She-Hulk; art by John Buscema

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Actress Brigitte Nielsen as She-Hulk

Monica Rambeau
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Monica Rambeau is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Initially known as Captain Marvel, the became a leader of the Avengers. She later used the codenames Photon, Pulsar, and, beginning in 2013, the character was created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita, Jr. She first appeared in The Amazi

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Captain Marvel vol. 2, #1 (Nov. 1989)

Paladin (comics)
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Paladin is a fictional character, a mercenary appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. While he claims that Paladin is his name, he often goes by the name Paul Denning. Though not a supervillain, his activities often bring him into conflict with superheroes. Paladin first appeared in Daredevil #150, the character had a one-shot

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Paladin. Art by Leinil Francis Yu.

Vision (Marvel Comics)
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Vision is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first iteration was a created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #13. The second iteration is an android and a member of the Avengers who first appeared in The Avengers #57 by Roy Thomas, Stan Le

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The Silver Age Vision on the cover of Avengers vol. 4 #24.1 (March 2012). Art by Brandon Peterson.

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Debut of the Silver Age Vision: The Avengers #57 (Oct. 1968). Cover pencils by John Buscema.

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The Vision in a character poster for the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron, portrayed by Paul Bettany.

Beyonder
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The Beyonder is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He later appeared in an antagonistic role in the 1985 sequel Secret Wars II, in which he took human form. Although the character met his demise at the end of Secret Wars II, he has appeared in stories well into the 2000s. Created by writer Jim Sh

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The Beyonder in his human form. Art by Jim Cheung.

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The Beyonder from Secret Wars II #3, Art by Al Milgrom

Magneto (comics)
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Magneto is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appears in The X-Men #1 as the archenemy of the X-Men. The character is a mutant, one of a fictional subspecies of humanity born with superhuman

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The House of Magnus, from left to right: Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, her two children William and Thomas, Magneto, and Polaris.

Mary MacPherran
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Titania, is a supervillainess appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is notable for being one of Marvels strongest human female characters, MacPherran is the second Marvel supervillainess to use the name. The first Titania was a wrestler and member of The Grapplers who was murdered by the Scourge of the Underworld. Upon D

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Titania. Art by Alex Saviuk.

Absorbing Man
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The Absorbing Man is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Journey into Mystery #114, cover dated March 1965, created by writer Stan Lee, over the years he has played a part on several Marvel Comics crossovers such as the original Secret Wars and Fear Itself. Creel was given the

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From top left to bottom right: Oxford skyline panorama from St Mary's Church; Radcliffe Camera; High Street from above looking east; University College; High Street by night; Natural History Museum and Pitt Rivers Museum.

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United States citizenship confers the right to acquire a U.S. passport. The one shown above is a post-2007 issued passport.

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The U.S. military has been an all-volunteer force since the end of the Vietnam War, but male U.S. citizens and non-citizens are still required to register for the military draft within 30 days of their 18th birthday.

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U.S. citizens may be summoned to serve on a jury.

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Citizens are required to file U.S. taxes even if they do not live in the U.S.